Hinata: Team Heart
by BanditWerewolf
Summary: Full information inside. Basically tells the story of what would happen if Hinata was the female in Team 7, and not Sakura. Old and used concept, but I felt like doing it, anyway. No flames, or complaints about the story, please. Rated M for questionable reasons.
1. Chapter 1: Coming of Age

**Hinata: Team Heart chapter 01: Coming of Age**

BW: Hey everyone, BW here, with a new fanfic. I'm pretty you know this, but this is a NaruHina fanfic, and my first Naruto fic. I had this idea for while, and couldn't stop thinking about it. This story is about what would happen if Hinata was female on Team Kakashi and not Sakura. Naturally, it's a retell of the original story, and I know this probably isn't the first fanfic with that idea in mind and it's probably a very old one by now, but I felt I had to try my hand at it. To be honest, I never really liked Sakura at the beginning, and always preferred Hinata. Now, enough with this, let's get this thing started! And be warned, there will be fanservice, and language.

**(I don't own Naruto or series content)**

* * *

At Konoha's Ninja Academy, the Graduation Exam has taken place. All of the young students have passed the exam, and now have become Genin.

Among these graduating students is a young girl with short dark blue hair in a Hime-cut, and white eyes with a hint of lavender in them. She wore a cream colored hooded jacket with fire symbols on the upper right and lift, with fur around the cuffs and hem, and navy blue pants. She more her Leaf forehand protector around her neck.

This is Hinata Hyuga, member of, and heiress to the Hyuga clan's Main Branch, or would be heiress of the Hyuga clan Main Branch. Because of her shyness, and self confidence issues, her father, Hiashi Hyuga decided to focus his attention on Hinata's younger sister, Hanabi, and make her the leader, due to being emotionally stronger then her older sister.

While every one of the graduating class is being greeted by their parents, and receiving congrats from them, Hinata waits for her father to arrive. She looked a little envious of other kids and their parents' proud smiles. Meanwhile, Hinata hasn't been so fortunate in getting her father's attention.

Although, she's generally happy that her fellow classmates are getting praise for passing the exam, she couldn't help but notice, one student in particular, sitting sullenly by himself at the swing. He had blonde spiky hair, blue eyes, and facial markings resembling whiskers. He wore a orange jumpsuit. This is Naruto Uzumaki, who happens to be the class clown.

He's known for his humorous pranks around the village, and his confident attitude, and his general loud behavior, but deep down, Naruto is truly lonely. He didn't have any parents, and no one to call friends. Worst yet, no one in the village seem to like him. The adults would look at him scornfully, and tell their children the stay away from him, especially when he did nothing wrong.

Naruto was the only one who didn't pass the exam, and now must remain at the academy.

Hinata, who is probably the only one here who understands how much pain he's endured over the years, felt sadness.

For one: he couldn't graduate, and achieve his dream, and two: she wouldn't be able to see him anymore. She actually has a secret crush on him, but due to her shyness, she's never been able to get her feelings across. That, and partially due to ignorance on his part.

He tried really hard to pass, but in the end, he failed. She wanted comfort him, as much as she could in fact, and began to walk over to him, but, "Hinata." called her father's voice. Hiashi finally arrived at the academy.

"Oh, father." Hinata said, as she turned around to face him.

"I see you graduated. Excellent work." Hiashi said, however, unlike the other parents, he didn't look particular proud, or have a smile on his face. He had more a stern and strict personality than most.

"Uh… thank you very much." Hinata thanked. Although Hiashi didn't sound nice when he said his praise, it was enough that he said "excellent work".

"Alright, let's go home." said Hiashi, and began walking back home.

"Yes, sir." Hinata complied. Before she followed Hiashi home, she took one last look at Naruto. She was surprised to see Mizuki-sensei asking him to come with him.

Though he was another instructor like Iruka-sensei, something always felt off about Mizuki-sensei. He had a nice smile, and looked like a generally nice person, but there was something creepy about him, Hinata couldn't place. Either way, didn't matter, because she hoped he'd help Naruto coup with his depression, since she can't do it herself.

"Hinata!" Hiashi called to his eldest daughter.

"Coming!" Hinata replied, and ran up to catch up to her father. The two walk home soon after.

**(-Late Afernoon-)**

The sunset was setting, as the father-daughter duo travel home to the Hyuga estate. It was quiet. Naturally because Hinata didn't want to trouble her strict father more then she already did, and Hiashi probably wouldn't be interested in anything to talk about.

She remember the words some of the adults spoke before Hiashi showed up.

"There, it's that boy. I heard he's the only who failed." said one of the adults, referencing Naruto.

"Well, it serves him right." another huffed, clearly satisfied that Naruto couldn't become a ninja.

"Just think would happen if he became a ninja. I mean, he's the boy who-" "Shh! We're not allowed to talk about that."

Hinata had overheard that conversation, and wondered what they weren't allowed to talk about. It definitely had something to do with Naruto, and why the adults don't like him.

It may be stupid to ask now, but she felt she had to know, "Um… father?" she called to Hiashi.

"What?" Hiashi answered, stopping to chat, not that he had any interest.

"Um… well…" Hinata began fidgeting with her figures, feeling nervous as usual. Hiashi waits patiently for his daughter to speak up. "Uhh… w-why does everyone… hate Naruto?" she finally asked.

This came as a surprise to Hiashi, but he remained silent for a short moment. His response to this question is, "That… is nothing for you to be concerned about."

"… But…" Hinata began protesting, but one look at her father's stern face told her to back down.

Hiashi was beginning to sense something. This is actually the first time that Hinata spoke of her own personal interests, something she hasn't done in some time. Not after her mother's death. "How do you really feel about that boy?" Hiashi asked his daughter, to her surprise.

With her shocked expression, her cheeks turned red. She began fidgeting again, while turning her head away.

"… W-Well, um… n-never mind…" Hinata mumbled under her breath. There was no way she could tell him that she actually liked Naruto, because she knew he would immediately disapprove.

"I see. Well then, let's get going." Hiashi orders, and marches straight, with his dejected daughter following along.

**(-Later that night: Hyuga Main House-)**

Later that night, in the family bath house, Hinata is bathing alone, meanwhile collecting her thoughts.

Ever since as long as she could remember, she has tried to earn her father's praise and respect. And when that failed, she tried to get Naruto's attention, but thanks ignorance being bliss, Naruto doesn't seem to realize her efforts.

Now that she's thinking about Naruto, she started getting depressed. Why did she graduate and become a ninja alone, while her first crush remains a dropout? It would have been nice if they could graduate, and become Shinobi together. That's all but a distant dream now.

"Naruto-kun…" she muttered.

"Sister!" Hanabi's voice called from behind the sliding door. Hanabi opened it, and walked dressed in a towel.

"Hanabi, what is it?" Hinata asked her younger sister.

"Can I talk to you?" Hanabi asked.

"Sure." Hinata answered.

Both sister were now bathing together.

"I heard you graduated from the academy today." Hanabi said.

"Yeah, I managed." said Hinata.

"I'm kind of envious. You got to go the academy, while I'm pretty much at home training with father." said Hanabi.

"Oh, no. You don't need any reason to be jealous of me, Hanabi. You're going to lead the clan one day, so you need father's training." stated Hinata.

"Really? I think you would make a great leader of the clan, if you put your heart in it, Sister." Hanabi said, and she wasn't lying.

"Eh? R-Really?" Hinata stuttered. Hanabi nods with a smile. Normally the older sister should encourage the younger sibling, however, Hinata doesn't mind this particular situation. Unlike Hiashi, Hanabi is generally nicer to her older sister, despite being chosen over Hinata for position of heiress to the Hyuga clan. "Thank you, Hanabi." Hinata thanked her little sister, and smiled as well.

Just when the moment was getting good, Hanabi twitch her head towards the wall.

"Hanabi?" Hinata asked in confusion of her sister's behavior.

"Someone's out there!" Hanabi yelled, as she jumped to her feet. Hinata stood up in shock as well.

Hanabi activates her family's signature ability, Byakugan to see through the wall, and to get look at this mysterious intruder. No one was there.

"Huh? That's odd. I thought I heard someone out there." Hanabi said, "Was it my imagination?" she wondered. Either her mind was truly tricks on her, or maybe someone truly was there, but quickly escaped before Hanabi had time to activate her Byakugan.

"Um… Hanabi, why would someone come here in the first place?" asked Hinata.

"Either to take the secret of our family's ability… or sneak a peek." Hanabi said, with a straight face no less.

"S-Sneak a peek…?" Hinata muttered, with a generally uncomfortable look on her face.

"Well, if someone wanted to sneak a peek at you, sister, I'd have every reason to think they'd make the right choice, since you have a more appealing body." Hanabi said, with a smile, and giving a thumbs up as well.

True, Hinata is more developed then the average girl, but it was quite embarrassing that her sister would say that, even if she had no offense intended.

"Ehh…?" Hinata didn't know whether to be happy or not, but she is glad that Hanabi has more confidence in herself.

Meanwhile, Hiashi, interestingly enough, is sitting outside, panting and breathing heavily. It would appear that he was running from something, or maybe somewhere.

"Hah… hah… ha…!" Hiashi panted.

"Hiashi-sama!" bellowed Hyuga clan member as he spotted the family head in his tired state, and rushed to his aid. "Is everything alright, Hiashi-sama?" he asked.

"I-I'm fine!" Hiashi claims, as he stood, "I'm just tired."

"I see…" said the Hyuga member, "Then, what has you so tired and out of breath, sir?" he asked.

"What? Uh… I was out jogging." Hiashi lied.

"Jogging?" the Hyuga questioned. He didn't think Hiashi, the head of the Main Branch, would be jogging in the middle of the night.

"Yes, jogging! Is there a problem with that?" Hiashi asked, with an intimidating glare.

"N-No. No problem at all." the Hyuga answered.

"Good. Now if you'll excuse me." Hiashi trots off after that.

Though he knew it was probably wrong, the Hyuga clan member stared suspiciously at Hiashi as walked away. The direction he must've came from was from the Main Branch's bath house. He if remembered correctly, Miss Hinata should be taking a bath, right now.

"Was he…?" The Hyuga member began. He stood quietly, thinking about what he's thinking of. "No, it can't be." the Hyuga member decided, and left the issue be.

Meanwhile, Hiashi is lost deep in his own thoughts, "It seems I trained Hanabi a little too well. Perhaps a break from training is in order." he muttered. After that he makes a mental note on Hinata's hidden curves, "Hinata has grown quite well."

Let's leave wherever he's been to your imaginations, shall we?

**(-A few days later: Leaf Village Ninja Academy, classroom-)**

It's orientation day at the Academy. The graduating students are to report back to the Ninja Academy to be notified on how they will function as ninja from now on. Iruka-sensei has yet to arrive though, so the students are waiting.

Hinata arrives in the classroom some time after a few other students. She hadn't slept well, knowing that Naruto wouldn't be here. But, one thing that surprised her was that Naruto actually did showed up as well, and he was pretty happy.

He wore the Leaf forehead protector, and that was a good sign. It was like the gloomy Naruto from the other day, has vanished. He sat gleefully at table down below where she was sitting. If she could, she'd sit next to him, but she was once again, too shy to. Or so you would think. Her happiness for him taking over, Hinata walks towards Naruto's table.

"U-Um, Naruto-kun…" Hinata mumbled. She was nervous in speaking to him, naturally.

"Huh? Oh, hey Hinata. What's up?" Naruto greets her with the same grin.

"Uh, well… it looks like you managed to graduate, Naruto-kun." Hinata said.

"Yeah, that's right! Check out the Leaf Headband! Looks pretty cool, huh?" Naruto began tilting his headband proudly.

"Y-Yeah, it's very cool." Hinata agrees, "Naruto-kun graduated too. Thank goodness." Hinata thought, with her bright smile in toe. This was the first time she talked Naruto so causally. It made her so happy.

"You think so? Hehe, guess this head gear was made for me, huh?" Naruto chuckled.

While Naruto and Hinata are chatting with each other, hard running noise can be heard from outside the hall. Two junior Kunoichi were racing each to the academy, and more to the point, their classroom, and needless to say, they were a bit too close to each other. They squeezed their way in through the door together.

"I'm first here!" they say together. One of the girls had long pink hair, and bright green eyes. She had a wide forehead. She wore a red short sleeve qipao dress, tight dark green shorts, and wore her forehead protector on top of her head. This girl's name, is Sakura Haruno. The other girl had pale blonde hair, tied in a ponytail, and wore entirely purple. This is Ino Yamanaka, who could be seen as friend, and rival to Sakura.

As you no doubt guess (and already should know) these two girls are completely opposite of Hinata. Unlike her, they have more confidence in themselves, especially when it comes to their affections.

As the two began quarrelling on who one got to class first, Naruto turns around to see the commotion. He blushes at the sight of Sakura. Disappointed that his gaze wasn't at her, Hinata brings a sad and somewhat envious expression on her face. Naruto always paid attention to Sakura, because of his obvious crush on her, and generally thought of Hinata as a quiet and strange girl, to her own distress.

Sakura meanwhile, turns her head, and seemed to look in Naruto's direction, much to his delight. He was thinking that she likes his new look, with the headband on. Amazing how he doesn't even notice Hinata. He was talking to her about it too.

Sakura, for some reason, rushes down happily to Naruto, and just as he's about to greet her, she knocks him down, not even giving him a second glance. In fact, she wasn't even look at him at all.

Hinata wrought a worried expression on her face when she saw what just happened. Naruto was fine though, thank god. But, Hinata, though not openly given her polite nature, expressed disapproval of treating Naruto like that. Then again, she is somewhat relieved that Sakura doesn't have the slightest interest in Naruto.

Sakura had spotted something more interesting in mind, and it's name, Sasuke Uchiha, the most talented student in the academy, and also the most good looking boy in the whole bunch. Sleek black and spiky hair, and sharp onyx eyes, Sasuke wore a blue t-shirt, and white shorts.

"Um, hi Sasuke-kun!" she greeted to Sasuke, who only sat one seat apart from Naruto. In response to Sakura's greeting, Sasuke silently glances at her, not even returning her greeting. In fact, he didn't even speak. Sasuke prefers not to talk with anyone, and would rather keep to himself.

Sakura has an obvious crush on Sasuke, like the rest of the girl in her class, with the sole exception of Hinata, who has more interest in the class underdog, Naruto.

"I-It is okay, if I sit next to you?" she asked, shyly.

"Hold it, who you get to sit next to Sasuke-kun?!" Ino marches towards with jealous expression. Soon the two girls were arguing on who can sit next to Sasuke, base on who got here first. Soon the rest of the girls in class, apart from Hinata got into the argument. Unfortunately, Hinata was in the middle of the chaos.

Sasuke was less then amused, because they were making such a racket. He has no interest in girls once so ever.

**(-Hokage council room-)**

The Third Hokage, Sarutobi, and several Jonin level ninjas are watching the chaos unfold through a crystal ball.

One of the Jonin, Kakashi Hatake, had his open eye on the students he'll teaching.

"Sasuke Uchiha. The most gifted in the Academy." said the Third.

"The only survivor of the Uchiha clan." said a female Jonin, Kurenai.

"He'll be under your watch Kakashi." said the Third to Kakashi.

"Hmm…" Kakashi stares silently at image in the crystal ball.

Not only does he have his eye on Sasuke, but also on Naruto, and evidentially, Hinata. From what he gathered about her, Hinata could serve as emotional support for the team, but he wasn't going to get his hopes up yet. For now, he'll just have to watch them and see.

**(-Academy classroom-)**

While the Sasuke fan girls were bickering amongst themselves, Naruto, feeling angry, jumps up on the desk, and gives a nasty look to Sasuke. This time, Sasuke returns to sentiment.

"Need something, loser?" Sasuke rudely asked.

"I dunno. You tell me, asshole." Naruto answered, also in a rude tone. Their glares at each other get electric at that point. Naruto and Sasuke never got along in the first place. Naruto always wondered why every girl in this class likes Sasuke so much. What's so great him? That's what Naruto's thinking as he glares at his rival.

The girls, especially Sakura were yelling at Naruto to get away from Sasuke. Naruto refuses to listen. Meanwhile, Hinata, who was watching the whole things, hopes that Naruto doesn't get into trouble.

"N-Naruto-kun…!" Hinata whispered.

However, in the excitement, one of the overzealous boys in class inadvertently bumps Naruto from behind, and pushes his face into Sasuke's.

There was a pause in the girls at that moment. It seems the two boys had kissed each other, purely by accident.

Upon parting their lips, Naruto and Sasuke were coughing and gagging, with pure disgust. Hinata found kind of funny to see those two act like that, but was little sad that she wasn't the first person Naruto kissed.

Meanwhile the fan girls, Sakura in particular, flipped out. Her Inner personality expressed intense anger at what Naruto had done. She preached that she was going to be Sasuke's first kiss, and that Naruto was going to pay for stealing it.

And pay, he would. He sensed bloodlust coming from Sakura and all the fan girls in the room, who gave him glares that pretty much signed his death warrant. In his defense, it was an accident, but they weren't listen. They processed to pummeling and beating Naruto to near death, and most certainly showed no sign of stopping. Hinata, not bearing the sight of Naruto getting beaten up for something that was not his fault, tried to stop them, but was powerless.

Soon, Iruka finally shows up, and breaks the fight up. If you could call that a fight. Naruto looked half dead, with bruise and scares all over his face. Hinata apologized to Naruto in her heart for not being strong enough to stop the other girls.

Sakura, like she wanted, sat next to Sasuke, with the rest of the girls jealous, although Naruto was next to her too. She doesn't seem to care. Hinata would have at least liked to sit next to Naruto, but was forced to sit elsewhere, to her dismay. She wondered to herself, why does Naruto like Sakura, even when she's so mean to him. As far back as she could remember, Sakura has never returned Naruto's feelings, no matter how hard he tried.

Now that everyone was seated and calmed down, things can finally get underway.

Iruka-sensei began explaining the road the Genin will follow from this day forward. Soon after, he explains about the how the Genin paired into teams of three, and then began announcing the teams by number.

Hinata hoped with all her heart that she'd be paired with Naruto. If there was chance she and Naruto would be on the same team, then she couldn't be happier.

Naruto on the other hand, wanted to be with Sakura, and didn't care who else, so long as it wasn't with that irritating Sasuke.

Naturally, Sakura wants to be with Sasuke, and couldn't care less about who else is there.

Unfortunately, Sasuke didn't seem too fond of the idea of being on a team. He thought it would only slow him down from his own goals.

Iruka had announced the first six teams, and is now moving on to Team 7, "Next, Team 7: Naruto Uzumaki, Hinata Hyuga, and Sasuke Uchiha." Iruka announced.

Hinata's heart began beating rapidly. She so overcome with joy, it felt like it was going to burst. However, Naruto was quite frankly, disappointed that Sakura wasn't on his team. Seeing Naruto look so down, Hinata apologized to him again for thinking so selfishly.

Naruto wasn't the only one. Sakura was just as horrified as the other girls that she wasn't on the same team as Sasuke. He's with Hinata, the quietest girl in class. They don't seem to realize that neither Hinata, or Sasuke had any interest in each other.

Soon after that, Iruka announced the rest of the teams.

For Team 8: Sakura Haruno, Kiba Inuzuka, and Shino Aburame. Didn't change matter's that Sakura was still disappointed about the assignments. She was starting to feel jealous of Hinata. Then again, she's stuck with an annoying loser like Naruto, so it wouldn't be all bad, but still, Hinata and Sasuke. She can't forgive that.

After announcing the last teams were announced, Iruka informed the Genin that their Jonin instructors would meet them after lunch break.

After this, Iruka dismissed his class, and they go off to have lunch with their teammates. But, Sasuke immediately walks out, leaving his team behind.

**(-Lunch break-)**

Naruto sullen walks outside.

"Man this sucks… not being on the same team as Sakura-chan…" Naruto muttered to himself as he kicks a small pebble as the walk. He wound up with Sasuke, the biggest jerk in class, and Hinata, who can barely talk to anyone, except with a mumble. How could he have been stuck with these two as his teammates?

Hinata stalks right behind him, like she usually does. She knows that Naruto is upset about not being with Sakura, but she at least wanted to get to know him. When she was talking to him earlier, she felt really excited, and wanted to talk with him some more.

She continues follow him, while gathering enough courage to speak up, "N-Naruto-kun!"

"Huh?" Naruto turns around to see Hinata, "Oh, hey Hinata. Something wrong?" Naruto asked in a bored tone. This was understandably different from before, but she still has to try.

"Um… I... I was wondering… w-would like to… eat lunch with me…?" Hinata shyly asked.

"Huh? Alright. Got nothing better to do." Naruto agreed. Hinata smiled to that, and joins him on his walk. Now they have to find a nice spot to eat.

Meanwhile, Sakura had left her team behind to hopefully eat with Sasuke, much to their annoyance.

"Geez, so much for eating as a team!" Kida complained.

"She's infatuated with Sasuke Uchiha, just like the rest of the girls in class." Shino states, "Can you blame her?"

"Yeah, I know. But what do they see in that guy? He just ignores them completely, and thinks he's better than everyone else." complained Kiba.

"Those with strength, and the looks the boast it, attract and draw others to them. Like moths, to a flame." said Shino.

"What?" Kiba is at a loss for words. Kiba's pet dog, Akamaru, resting on his owner's head, gave a confused low whimpered.

Meanwhile, Sakura is still in search of Sasuke. "This'll probably be the last time I see Sasuke-kun! I at least need to know what he thinks of me." she thought.

* * *

BW: And that's chapter 01! I think that turned out rather well, wouldn't you agree. See you next chapter.


	2. Chapter 2: Friend or Foe

**Hinata: Team Heart chapter 02: Friend or Foe**

BW: Hey everyone, BW again with chapter 2. We're going to get some of the romance in the air this time around. Let's go.

**(I don't own Naruto or series content)**

* * *

It's lunch break at the Academy. All the graduating students, who are now Genin in teams of three, are to eat first, then meet their Jonin instructors in the classroom.

Our focus is obviously on Team 7, who consists of Naruto, Hinata, and Sasuke.

Naruto and Hinata are eating lunch together on the roof of the academy. Hinata sat next to Naruto as they ate their lunches.

"Eating together like this with Naruto-kun is like dream true." she thought. Naruto didn't really think anything of it, but as long as Hinata was with him, that all that really mattered.

After eating a rice ball, Naruto stares at Hinata with curiosity. "Hey, Hinata." Naruto said.

"Y-Yes?" Hinata blushed.

"Why are you eating lunch with me?" he asked, "Wouldn't you rather eat lunch with Sasuke? Compared to me, I bet you'd be much happier."

"Uh..." Hinata felt a twinge of sadness at what Naruto just asked, "I... actually, wanted to eat lunch with you, Naruto-kun..."

"HUH?! What was that? I can't hear you!" Naruto yelled, as he started got up into Hinata face. Naruto's face getting so close to her, she blushed and turned away in shock.

"Eek!" she squealed.

"Why do you always act like that? You're so weird, haha!" Naruto laughed. Seems his bored mood has been lifted a bit.

"Naruto-kun..." Hinata was glad to see that cheerful mood of his slowly returning.

"Come to think of it, you don't look like one of those Sasuke fan girls. In fact, I don't think I've seen you hanging around him at all. That's pretty weird." said Naruto. He's used to seeing all the girls fawn over Sasuke like he was a prince, but Hinata's the only exception, which in his own words is "pretty weird".

"W-Well, it's not like I don't like Sasuke." said Hinata, "Though, it would be nice if we all can eat together, since we're on the same team."

Actually, because of Sasuke's solitary and cold nature, she's somewhat intimidated by him. Still, it probably nice if he ate with his teammates. At least that way, they get along better.

"Yeah, right! He left us hanging. Some teammate, right?" Naruto jeered, "He thinks he's so cool. He practically ignores all the girls who fawn all over him! Worse part is, Sakura-chan is actually one of 'em!" he complained, "It's frustrating! He's so much better at everything, ad everyone loves him! Why can't I be more like him?"

Hinata understood Naruto's feelings quite well. He wished to be liked, but it's never happened before, because for some reason, no one wanted to be Naruto's friend. Hinata herself has never had any luck making friends in class either, because of her lack of self-esteem.

She had this to say though, "I... I think you're fine the way you are Naruto-kun." she said. This caught Naruto's attention. "Because, your strong and independent, and you never give up on yourself. And you keep working hard, no matter what. I think those are your best qualities."

Those words reminded Naruto of the things Iruka-sensei said to Mizuki that night. Iruka said that Naruto was hard working, and one of kind, and that he wasn't some demon, but himself. Those words are what drove him to do his best.

"But still, it is enviable, that Sasuke-kun has people who like him. Being liked by other people, and not being hated. For someone like me, it's difficult to find someone who'd like me for who I am." Hinata said, with a bit of sadness in her pure lavender eyes.

"Hmm?" Naruto just stares at Hinata again. Now that's he got a good look at her, there was something about her...

"Say, Naruto-kun... can I... ask you something?"

"Sure, go ahead." Naruto answered.

"Why do you like Sakura-san so much?" Hinata asked, "I mean, she doesn't seem to like you that much, so..."

"Well, duh, she's smart and pretty. Who wouldn't like her?" Naruto questions, "Besides, even she doesn't like me, I gotta get my feelings across somehow."

"Get your feelings across..." Hinata repeats those words. Guess she had more in common with Naruto than she's thought. She had feelings for Naruto, but has never been able gotten them across to him. Naruto on the other hand, likes Sakura, and tries to get her attention, but she usually spurns them, because of her affection for Sasuke.

"That's it!" Naruto shouts all of sudden. He quickly stood up. "This might be the last time I see her! I gotta find out how she feels about me!" Naruto declared, "And I know the perfect way how!" Naruto has a scheming look on his face, and dashed off.

"N-Naruto-kun?!" Hinata cried as Naruto leaves.

"Sorry, Hinata, but this something I gotta do! You can finish up without me!" Naruto said, and quickly vanished from sight.

Now, she's all alone. Hinata sighed to herself. That energetic side to Naruto is one of the things she likes best, though.

**(-Meanwhile-)**

Sasuke is eating lunch, on his own. He preferred to be alone, without those useless fan girls tagging along. He was in a dark room, with a window open.

Being as stealth as possible, a certain class clown of a loser named Naruto snuck his way across the veranda, so he could sneak attack Sasuke while he was eating. Just as he jumped Sasuke, a short tussle ensued between them.

Sasuke came out the victory, as excepted.

"Hmph! Nice try." Sasuke said to a tied up Naruto.

**(-Meanwhile-)**

Hinata, after finishing her own lunch, was heading back to the classroom, and while she was at it, hoping to find Naruto. She was wondering what Naruto was planning to do.

"I wonder what Naruto-kun is up to." she said to herself. After a while, she stopped, and spotted Sakura, sitting alone on a bench, sighing to herself.

Sakura was complaining about how Sasuke couldn't possibly be interested in her, and the only thing big about her, is forehead. Then, she starts to daydream about Sasuke complimenting her forehead, and how he feels like kissing it. The reality of this story, not a chance in hell.

Hinata, both feeling sorry for her, and worried that she might upset her more, decided that she wanted to talk to her. She knew Naruto himself wanted to know Sakura's feelings for him, but Hinata wanted to know as well, though the result could be what she excepted.

"U-Um..." Hinata mumbles as she approaches Sakura, who only noticed her for about two seconds.

"Oh, Hinata..." Sakura grumbled. Seems she's still jealous about the assignments in teams, particularly where Hinata's ends with Sasuke instead of her. To show this, she glares at the shy girl in front of her.

Hinata felt intimidated by Sakura's scowl, "I-I'm sorry... am I bothering you...?" she nervously asked.

"No, I'm in perfect health, and I still have some free time on my hands." Sakura claimed.

"I see... t-then, can I talk to you for a minute...?" Hinata asked.

"Talk? About what?" Sakura asked.

Hinata reluctantly sat with Sakura on the bench, "Um... well..." she muttered, trying to find the right words. Sakura continues to scowl at the shy girl.

"Geez, you're so hesitant and moody! If you wanna say something, then say it!" Sakura orders, growing impatient. She was beginning to wonder how a girl like Hinata could end up with Sasuke and Naruto of all people.

"I-I'm sorry..." Hinata apologized, "It... it's about Naruto-kun..." she began to say, "I just wanted to know... what you think of him. He's always greeting you so cheerfully, and is nice to you, so why do you push him away?"

Meanwhile, someone is watching the scene unfold. It was Sasuke Uchiha, hiding in the bushes. Actually, it was Naruto, transformed into Sasuke.

After he was seemingly beaten by Sasuke, Naruto pulled a Replacement Jutsu on him, which was obviously not expected. Soon after, multiple Naruto's showed up. Apparently, they were Shadow Clones, which were vastly different from the usual Clone Jutsu. Shadow Clones where real, and they proved it by ganging up on Sasuke, and tied him up so that he wouldn't interfere with his plans.

Naruto then transformed himself into Sasuke and left the real one behind, so that he can ask Sakura himself, how she feels about him. He figured that she wouldn't talk to him if Naruto was himself, and thought she'd open up if he were Sasuke. But, he hadn't counted on Hinata to show up, and ask in his stead.

"Naruto?" Sakura asked in a annoyed tone, "He knows about my feelings for Sasuke-kun, and is always trying to get in the way. Naruto is just annoying." Sakura said.

"Annoying...?" Hinata asks. She started feel a sense of angry towards Sakura's harsh words. How could she talk that way about someone who has feelings for her, and think that he was annoying? That's was Hinata was wondering.

Naruto had heard what Sakura's feelings about him were, and felt his heart ache. It was fairly obvious that Sakura had thought he was annoying by the way she ignored him, but still.

"The only thing I want... was for Sasuke-kun to..." Sakura began. Hinata's anger at Sakura turned to curiosity. "For Sasuke-kun to accept me." Sakura said.

"You want, Sasuke-kun to accept you?" Hinata asked.

"Yes... I'm desperate. I'd do anything for that. I really would." Sakura replied, with a sadden expression. That's when Hinata began to realize; she and Sakura are the same. They want the boy they love, to see their feelings, and accept them for who they are. She's seems different from all the fan girls in class.

The hiding Naruto felt a sense of shame. If he had gone along with his plan, he would just be taking advantage of Sakura's feelings for Sasuke.

"Now I can't, because you're in the way too." Sakura said to Hinata.

"M-Me?" Hinata gasped.

"I tried really hard to get Sasuke-kun to notice me, and now we can never be together! Because you and Naruto are the same team as him!" Sakura began to rise her voice, "Do you know how frustrating that is?!"

"S-Sakura-san..." Hinata began to panic. Sakura's really angry.

"Uh oh! This isn't good, I gotta stop them before-" Naruto was about jump into action, seeing Sakura becoming angry at Hinata, but all of sudden, his stomach began growling. There was a very uncomfortable feeling in his bowels. "Agh, dammit! My stomach! Why now of all times?!" Naruto thought, and quickly ran to the bathroom inside the academy. The two girls didn't even notice him.

"Why does a quiet girl like get to be in the same group as Sasuke, while I'm stuck with a dog lover, and some creepy guy who loves bugs?!" Sakura roughly grabbed Hinata's shoulder.

"I-I don't know...! The academy decides everything...!" Hinata said.

"Who cares about the academy?! I just wanna know why it had to be you!" Sakura yelled. Her grip on Hinata's shoulder harden.

"S-Sakura-san... that hurts..." Hinata whined, and started to cry. Sakura noticed this, and unconscious loosened her grip, and lets go.

Sakura regained her composure, "I'm sorry, Hinata. I lost my temper back there."

"I-It's okay... I'm the one who should be sorry, for getting in the way..." Hinata said, still a little teary eyed.

That's right, shy and quiet little Hinata wouldn't take advantage of a sweet deal like this. She was way too sweet for that. Come to think of it, she's the only girl in class who doesn't have a crush on Sasuke. What's up with that?

**(-Bathroom-)**

Naruto had made it to the bathroom, in time to release the transform. In a puff of smoke, he returned to his original form.

"Man, that was close..." he sighed as he sat on an available toilet. He thought about what Sakura had said about him, "So, I'm annoying, huh?" he asked himself, "Well, I guess it can't be helped. I'm not the most likeable person, compared Sasuke." Naruto said, and that's when he remembered what Hinata had said to him before, the sincerity in her words.

He admitted that he thought Sakura was a real babe, but now he got to thinking, up close, Hinata's pretty cute too. Plus there's all that nice stuff she was saying about Naruto earlier, and she's nicer to him then Sakura ever was. Maybe being paired with Hinata wasn't so bad after all. The problem was Sakura, though. He still wanted Sakura to like him, but she's still has the hots for Sasuke.

Maybe he should become Sasuke again, and sound like a total jerk to Sakura. But, he put that thought away, because he'd still be taking advantage of her feelings, and it would contradict all the nice things Hinata said about him earlier.

And that's when he remembered, they were still fighting outside. He had to hurry before things got bad, but first, he had to take another dump.

**(-Outside-)**

Speaking of Sasuke, the real Sasuke came marching down the walk way. He was looking for something, or someone, and he wasn't happy.

"Oh, Sasuke-kun!" Sakura smiled, and ran up to him, returning to her cheerful personality that she'd only show Sasuke. Just when she and Hinata were just about to come to an understanding, too. While Hinata can barely make eye-contact with Naruto, Sakura was able to talk to Sasuke with no problem.

Hinata was envious of Sakura's confidence. She had always wished she could be like Sakura when it comes to being strong willed, and brave, minus the strong dislike for Naruto.

"What's wrong? Are you looking for something?" Sakura asked Sasuke.

"Where's Naruto?" Sasuke asked, while not even looking in Sakura's direction. Why would he be looking for Naruto?

"Oh, Naruto-this, Naruto-that! Is he really all you and Hinata can think about?" Sakura asked, "You know, he only picks fights with you, so why bother worrying about him, anyway?"

Sasuke didn't feel like listening to Sakura. He just kept looking around for him, so he could ask him personality, why he tied him up, and posed as the former. Not only that, he wants to know how Naruto managed to learn the Shadow Clone Jutsu, while he couldn't even pull off a regular Clone Jutsu in class.

He noticed Hinata's tear covered face, just as she was whipping them off. Were they having a fight before he showed up? Well, he wasn't interested in that anyway. He just wants find Naruto.

"You know why he's so much trouble? He didn't have any parents to tell him right from wrong." Sakura said. This finally got to Sasuke. He was paying attention, and not in a good way. He shot a glare at Sakura. She didn't notice, but Hinata did.

"Think about it. He does whatever he thinks. All those pranks in the village, and he's always getting into trouble." she continued, "And all because he doesn't have a mother or father to scold him. In the end, he's just selfish and bratty. He's all alone."

Hinata began feeling that same anger again. No more tears for her. This time, she wasn't going to hold back, and was going to let Sakura know how wrong about Naruto she is, however, Sasuke beats her to it.

"Alone... isolated..." Sasuke said, "It's not about having parents, and even being scolded. You have no idea what you're talking about. You don't know what it means to be alone." Sasuke states. This came as a surprise to Sakura, and Hinata. To think, he'd be standing up for someone like Naruto. In actuality, he understand what it was like to not have parents, because they were killed years ago, by a certain someone.

"W-What're saying all of sudden?" Sakura asked Sasuke, now totally confused. She thought he didn't like Naruto any more than she did, to hear him talk like this is just odd, at least to her.

"You're annoying." Sasuke coldly declared. Sakura froze at that moment. That's right. Sasuke told her off, and let her know exactly, how he feels.

Sasuke trotted off after that, to continue his search, leaving the two girls behind.

**(-Back at the restroom-)**

"Dammit... why did I have to take another one? Was it something I ate?" Naruto asked himself, whipping his butt with toilet paper. After that, he rose his pants back up, zipped them up, and finally got a chance to go back out and hopefully make sure no one gets hurt.

However, just as he was about to go to Sakura and Hinata, Sasuke met him outside the restroom.

"Whoa! Sasuke, how did you get loose?!"

"I used the Escape Jutsu. Very easy and basic technique." Sasuke bragged, before getting down to business, "Why'd you do that, anyway? Transformed into me?"

"N-None of your business!" Naruto yelled, "I don't have time for this! I gotta stop Sakura-chan and Hinata from fighting, before they-"

"So they were fighting." Sasuke cut Naruto off. He was with them a moment ago.

"What?! You saw them?!" Naruto asked Sasuke in shock.

"Looked like they were done by the time I got there." Sasuke said.

"Ah, geez..." Naruto felt bummed by that statement. Oh well, at least they're not fighting anymore, so that's a relief.

"Why do like that Sakura girl so much, anyway?" Sasuke asked Naruto, "She doesn't even like you, let alone respect you. You should just give up on her."

"What?" Naruto grunted. This bastard has enough nerve to say that, when she likes him? That just ticked Naruto off to no end. "What do you know? She-"

"That Hyuga girl's more interesting." Sasuke states as he turned around and walked away from Naruto, leaving him confused. "I'm heading back to class." Sasuke said.

"What... did he mean by that...?" Naruto muttered.

**(-Meanwhile: Hinata and Sakura-)**

Sakura stood there, still in shock, while Hinata stayed seated.

"Sakura-san..." Hinata whispered to Sakura.

"I'm annoying...?" Sakura muttered to herself, "He said I'm annoying..." Sakura has never felt like this before. This rejected feeling. She was aware of Naruto's feeling towards her, but she's also rejected him. Could this be how Naruto feels? She decided to ask Hinata about it, "Hinata... do you think this is how Naruto feels?"

Hinata stayed quiet, but Sakura seems to understand. As bright as she is, Sakura is not ignorant. "I see. You must think I'm annoying too, huh?"

"No." Hinata answered. Actually, she was annoyed with Sakura's words about Naruto, but since she's come to understand much alike they are, Hinata doesn't think she's annoying like Sasuke. Hinata didn't agree with Sasuke's harsh words, but she felt that he was right about Sakura. Still, she felt guilty for having felt so angry before. "I don't think you're annoying, but I do think Sasuke-kun is right, though."

Sakura stayed silent.

"You don't know how much Naruto-kun has suffered, from not having the love of parents, no friends, or the pain of being alone." Hinata said. She remembered all the times she saw Naruto, being treated like an outcast, and being lonely as a result. "The worst part is, that the girl he likes doesn't return his feelings."

"Yep... that's me." Sakura agreed. She turns back to Hinata, with a smile on her face, "Wow. You have a better understanding of Naruto than I ever did. Now I'm even more jealous." Sakura said, as she sat back down next to Hinata.

"R-Really?" Hinata asked, surprised.

"Yeah. Maybe it was best that I didn't become part of Team 7 with Sasuke-kun and Naruto, after all. I'm sure I'd just annoy Sasuke-kun, and still ignore Naruto." Sakura said.

"I guess..." Hinata agreed, "But, I think you're nice person, deep down."

"Huh? You think so? Even after I got so angry before?" Sakura asked.

"That was because of your feelings for Sasuke-kun. They're genuine. To care for someone with all heart, doesn't make you a bad person." said Hinata.

Sakura had no idea that Hinata could say something like that. She never bothered noticing her because she was so quiet and shy. To think, she would hear such words of wisdom from a girl like Hinata Hyuga.

Sakura grins to herself, and looks up at the sky. "Mmmm...!" Sakura stretches out her arms, feeling energized, "I feel better now!" she said, "I'm going back to class. See you later, Hinata. And thanks for the talk." she thanked, and prepared to leave.

"Oh, um... no problem... see you later, Sakura-san." Hinata smiled, and Sakura parted ways. The two are now evidently friends.

"Yeah, even if he rejects ten times over, I won't give up on Sasuke-kun. And next time I see Naruto, I'll be nicer." Sakura said to herself. At least she'll try. Now that she thought more about it, Hinata never really showed interest in Sasuke before. She seemed more keen on watching Naruto. Could it be that she...?

Meanwhile, Hinata sat alone on that bench.

"That's right. Having these feelings, are a wonderful thing." Hinata said to herself, with Naruto in mind. She put her hands to her chest and looked up at the same sky as Sakura did a moment ago.

Speaking of which, Naruto comes walking down the path way. He notices Hinata, smiling to herself. What's that all about?

"Hinata?" Naruto said, surprising the shy girl.

"Ah?! Oh, Naruto-kun?" a startled Hinata blushed, now noticing her crush standing there.

"Something wrong? You were kinda spacing out there." Naruto said, looking concerned.

"I-It's nothing! Really!" Hinata answered, nervously. She calmed down seconds later, "Anyway, let's go back to class now. We have to meet our new sensei after lunch is over."

"Oh, you're right! C'mon, let's hurry!" Naruto dashed off, with Hinata following behind.

"Wait, Naruto-kun!" Hinata bellows, trying to catch up to him.

"Come on, Hinata, let's go!" Naruto called out to her.

She knew there wasn't really a need to rush. Though she can't tell him her feelings now, they'd be together for a long time, so there's plenty of time to wait.

Speaking of waiting, Sasuke is waiting in the classroom. "Those two are so slow." he said.

* * *

BW: That's chapter 02, ladies and gentlemen. I honestly didn't think this story would be so popular. I'll try not to disappoint you loyal Naruhina fans. Until next time.


	3. Chapter 3: Trials Approaching

**Hinata: Team Heart chapter 03: Trials approaching**

BW: We're back, with chapter 03. Of course, this will mirror how episode 04 of Naruto got started, only Hinata is the female on the team. Duh! And yes, I am aware that I'm getting all canon with this, so no complaints please. And don't worry, there **will** be other changes, and original pieces in this, too. Now without further interruption, let's go!

**(I don't own Naruto or series content)**

* * *

Lunch time is over, and all the other teams of Genin have met their Jonin instructors, except one team in particular. Team 7, Naruto, Hinata, and Sasuke were waiting for their sensei to arrive. Iruka had left as well, leaving the three by themselves.

"Hmmm..." Naruto was irritably peeking outside the door, looking for the teams teacher, who has yet to show up, while Hinata and Sasuke are sitting at the tables.

"Naruto-kun..." Hinata whispered.

"Sit down already, will you." Sasuke demands.

"I don't wanna! Why are we the only ones stuck here, while everyone else left with their sensei?" Naruto asked.

"Hell if I know." Sasuke answered.

"This bites! Seriously!" Naruto grumbled. That's when he had an idea. He took an eraser from the blackboard, and placed at the top of the clack in the sliding door. He used a stool to help him reach high enough to put at the top. "Heh heh... this is perfect." Naruto grinned with chuckles.

"N-Naruto-kun, you really shouldn't do that... you might get into trouble..." Hinata tried to warn Naruto.

"It's his own fault for being late! This'll teach him a lesson!" Naruto said, getting down from the stool, and backing away.

"Well, that may be, but still..." Hinata muttered.

"You're kidding, right? Our teacher's a Jonin, an elite ninja. There's no way he'd fall for a prank like that." said Sasuke.

Hinata didn't quite agree, "B-But, it might amusing in a way... if he did fall for it." Hinata said. She always thought that Naruto's pranks were rather amusing.

This statement lead Sasuke to stare at Hinata.

"See? Hinata agrees with me!" Naruto proclaimed.

"True, but she was saying that you'd get in trouble just a second ago." Sasuke reminded.

"W-Well, I'm not trying to take sides, or anything... I-I'm just saying..." Hinata muttered. Neither Sasuke, or Naruto could understand a word she said.

That didn't matter anymore, because the three had heard the slowly slide door open. Seems their sensei finally arrived. And wouldn't you know it; he felt a certain blackboard eraser tap him on the head and fall to the floor under his feet. He just stood there, paused in the door way.

Their sensei was tall man, who looked about in his mid twenties. He had spiky white hair, which had gotten more white since the eraser fell on his head just now. He wore a dark blue mask to cover lower part of his face, and his Leaf Headband tilted to cover his left for whatever reason. The Jonin wore what other Chuunin or Jonin Shinobi of his village usually wore.

"Hahaha! He fell for it! He actually fell for it!" Naruto laughed historically at his sensei.

Hinata began to crack up a little, "I-I'm sorry, sensei, but..." Hinata tried apologizing, but couldn't keep herself from giggling a little bit. She couldn't believe what she said about their sensei falling for Naruto's prank, had actually come true.

Sasuke however was perplexed. "For real… he actually for that cheap trick? Is he really a Jonin?" he thought.

The Jonin walks, picks up the eraser and stares at it for a while, "Hm... my first impression of this group...?" the Jonin said with a sense of calm in his voice, "Ah... yes! You're all idiots." he said, with a bit of harsh tone. The three Genin felt a sense of dejection.

**(-Later, at another building-)**

Outside, Team 7 and their sensei are at another area fairly close to the academy, and are now about get acquainted.

The Jonin leaned against the railings while his students sat on the steps.

"Alright, with bad impressions aside. Let's get down to business. First off, I'd like you to introduce yourselves." said the Jonin.

"Introduce ourselves?" Hinata asked.

"Yes. The things you like or dislike, dreams for the future, hobbies that you're interested in." the Jonin explained.

"Okay, since we're introducing ourselves, why don't you go first, sensei?" Naruto asks the Jonin, "Show us how it works."

"Who me? I'm Kakashi Hatake." introduced Kakashi, "Things I like and dislike... don't feel like telling you. My dreams for the future... never actually thought about it. As for my hobbies, I've got a lot to choose from."

"The only thing he actually told us was his name..." Naruto whispered to Hinata, who sat next to him. She agrees.

"Alright. We'll start with you. The one wearing orange." Kakashi said, referring to Naruto.

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki." Naruto said, "I like instant ramen in a cup, and I really like the ramen at Ichiraku's Ramen." he added, "I hate how you have to wait pour the water in the cup. My hobby is eating different kinds of ramen and comparing them. My dream is the become the greatest Hokage ever! People will gonna stop disrespecting me, and see me as somebody important!" Naruto declared, brimming with confidence in his dream.

Hinata had a smile on her as she gazed at Naruto. She'd always cheer him on, no matter what. Sad thing is, Naruto doesn't realize how important he is to the girl sitting next to him. One day, she's make her feelings known, she was certain of that.

Kakashi felt that Naruto has grown in an interesting way, as he expected.

"Alright. Now it's the young lady's turn." Kakashi said, shifting his gaze at Hinata.

"M-Me...? I'm Hinata Hyuga, from the Hyuga clan. I like... cinnamon roll." Hinata said. She started fidgeting a little. Naturally, she couldn't tell Kakashi-sensei that she liked Naruto too. "I really dislike being a burden in general..." she continued, "My hobbies are..." Hinata paused for a moment, and her face turned red for a moment, when she noticed Naruto looking her, to his confusion, "Taking long walks." she finally said. She also couldn't admit that she spend most of her time following Naruto around.

"And your dreams are...?" Kakashi calmly asked to get Hinata back on track.

"O-Oh, my dreams... I haven't really decided yet." Hinata said. She did think about her desire to become Naruto's wife and having his child in the future. She did her best not to blush out again, but couldn't quite help it.

Naruto thought she was being weird, like usual.

She may have kept things referencing Naruto out, but Kakashi figured it out. It wasn't really that hard.

"She picked an interesting boy to fall for. Sad fact of the day is, she can't tell him, or others. And he's not all that bright either." Kakashi thought. Knowing that it might damage her already low self-esteem, Kakashi keeps this a secret for her. At least she wasn't completely boy crazy, unlike the other girls in Iruka's class. "Okay, last one. Your turn." Kakashi said aloud.

"My name is Sasuke Uchiha." Sasuke unenthusiastically introduced himself, "I hate a lot of things, and I don't particularly like anything." Sasuke said. Not surprising considering how annoyed he is by the fan girls chasing him every day. "I have no dream, but an ambition. And I will make it a reality." he said, with a cold atmosphere building around him, "I'm going to rebuild my clan, and destroy a certain someone..." Sasuke finished. He didn't say a word after that.

Silence filled the air, as the others stared at the unfazed Sasuke.

Naruto felt creeped out by his teammate's words, and hoped that he wasn't this "certain someone" Sasuke was planning to destroy. You clearly see how creeped out he by the expression on his face.

Hinata on the other hand, felt kind of sorry for Sasuke; she heard about what happened to his family, and his entire clan. It kind of reminded her on how she lost her mother at a young age. At the same time, she felt frighten of him as well. Sasuke was intimidating in general to her, but hearing talk about killing someone, gave her a chill running throughout her body.

Meanwhile, Kakashi had expected as much from the last Uchiha, and knew he had to work hard to help Sasuke get passed that.

"Okay, you each have your own unique personality and goals. We'll start our first mission tomorrow." Kakashi announced.

Naruto felt excited when her heard this announcement. "Ooh! What kind of mission is it?" Naruto cheerfully asked.

"... A task that the four of us will do together." Kakashi answered, "A survivor exercise."

"What? A survivor exercise?" Naruto asked, his enthusiasm disappearing.

"Didn't we do already this kind of training at the academy?" Hinata asked Kakashi.

"This is different from the training you went through previously." informed Kakashi.

"So, what kind of training is it then?" Naruto asked. This makes the Jonin chuckle to himself, which seemed kind of odd.

Sasuke stayed quiet, but he was beginning to feel on edge, like his teammates.

"Why is does that seem funny? That was a normal question." Hinata asked.

"Hehe! Because, once I tell you, you're not going to like what you hear." Kakashi said. His students are intent on listening anyway. "Of the 27 graduating students, only nine will be accepted officially as Genin. The others are weeded out, and sent back to the academy. In other words, this is make or break, pass/fail test, and the chances of you failing will be at least 66%." Kakashi said, with all seriousness instilled in each word.

The three would be Genin show different reactions, but ultimately, had the same feeling.

Naruto was utterly shocked. Hinata not only felt dishearten, but felt sick as well. Meanwhile, Sasuke remained calm, but he certainly didn't like Kakashi's answer to Naruto's question.

"See? What'd I tell you? You didn't like it." Kakashi teased.

"What the hell! That's total bull! We worked hard to get here! Why make us go through that graduation exam, anyway?!" Naruto yelled.

"Oh that. That was just find potential candidates who might able to become Genin." Kakashi answered, "Only I can determine whether or not you pass or fail. Be at the designated training spot at 5 AM. And be sure to be prepared, ninja gear and all." Kakashi ordered his students.

Tension was rising among the three former academy students.

Naruto wasn't about to be weeded out and sent back to the academy. He was going to be Hokage, and have people look up to him one day. He had to pass, or else his dream won't come true.

Hinata can't afford to allow her teammates to fail. If she can't get her father's approval, she can at least try and become a strong ninja. However, the worst part of failing means that she'll be separated from Naruto, and she couldn't bare that.

Sasuke tries to remain calm, but his hands begin to shake. If he fails this test, he won't able to fulfill his ambition, and his chance at hunting down that person will be lost for good. He cannot afford lose.

"Alright. That's all for today." said Kakashi and prepared to leave, but stopped for a second to leave one final word to his potential students, "Oh, one more thing. Don't eat breakfast, or you'll puke." Kakashi said, and left.

**(-Hyuga Main House: Hinata's room-)**

Hinata waited in her room, wearing a simple, loose fitting robe. After all she's heard today, she didn't have much of appetite for dinner. She wondered if her team will alright. She also hopes that she doesn't slow her teammates down. Remember, she doesn't like being a burden.

"What should do I...?" Hinata thought, staring up at the starry sky outside her window.

"Hinata." Hiashi's voice called.

"Father?" Hinata turned to her bedroom door upon hearing his voice.

"Can I come in?" Hiashi asked.

"Y-Yes." Hinata answered. Hiashi enters, with a stern face as usual.

"Mind to telling me why you decided skip out on dinner tonight?" asked Hiashi.

"I-It... about the training exercise... that me and my teammate are supposed to do with our new sensei." Hinata meekly answered.

"I see. You mentioned that when you got home. He said that the chances of you failing are high, correct?"

"Yes... and I don't know what to do..." Hinata replied.

"Isn't it obvious. Don't give your teammates, or your sensei any reason to look down on you. And if you can help it, don't drag them down." Hiashi said and left, leaving Hinata somewhat surprised.

As Hiashi is walking down the hall, he had a somewhat sadden look about him, "Hinata... your suffering, aren't you...?" Hiashi said in mind.

Meanwhile, in Hinata's room, she sat and thought about what her father just said to her. "Don't drag them down..." she repeated those last words. Knowing that Naruto and Sasuke will be depending on her, she couldn't afford to waste their efforts. "I have to do my best... for my sake, and for Naruto-kun's..."

**(-Early Morning-)**

Just before 5 in the morning, Hinata leaves the Hyuga Manner, and journeys to the spot Kakashi instructed the students to meet at, known as the Third Training Ground.

She, and her other teammates arrive on time. Sasuke showed up less than tired, while Naruto looked like he was sleep walking.

"Good morning, Naruto-kun, Sasuke-kun." Hinata greeted to her teammates.

"Hmmm..." Sasuke remained quiet.

Meanwhile, Naruto was still sleepy, "Aww man... I'm so tired..." Naruto yawned, sitting down on his behind. He wasn't the only one. Sasuke and Hinata were able to stand it, but they two were tired.

Hinata noticed something odd. The only one not to show up is Kakashi. "Where's Kakashi-sensei?" Hinata inquired.

"Doesn't look like he's here yet." Sasuke answered, who also noticed this oddity.

The three waited for some time for their sensei to show up, which pretty much seemed like hours. Finally, Kakashi arrived, while the others were standing around impatiently.

"Hey there, everyone. Ready for you first training lesson?" Kakashi asked.

"You're late!" Naruto pointed out, angrily.

"Sorry. My alarm clock didn't go off." Kakashi apologized in a friendly tone. His students didn't into his excuse. "Okay, all excuses aside. Let's get down to business." Kakashi said. He set up a clock, and placed on one of the wooded posts.

"There. It's set for noon." said Kakashi. Now he's holding out two bells, "Your assignment is quite simple. You just need to take these bells from me." Kakashi began explaining, "And you have to do it before the clock hits noon. If you don't get the bells by then, you'll tied to those posts over there, and be forced to watch me eat my lunch."

When the word lunch was heard, the three potential Genin felt their stomach growl, for food.

"So that's why..." Sasuke thought.

"He wanted to make this harder on us..." thought Hinata.

Naruto meanwhile, was caressing his stomach, like he was starving. Of course, he figured it out the same way as his teammates.

Hinata noticed something odd though. There were two bells, and not three. Shouldn't there be three bells, one for each member of the team to get?

"Um, sensei, there's only two bells... why are there two, when there's only three of us...?" Hinata asked.

"Huh? Now that you mention it..." Naruto stares at the bells.

"Well, at least that way, one of you will get tied to a post, and gets disqualified for failing your mission. And of course, that one gets to go back to the academy." Kakashi answers, while smiling under his mask. From what you can tell, his visible eye was calmly closed when he smiled.

Naruto, Hinata, and Sasuke weren't entirely surprised, but this revelation is definitely nerve racking for them.

"However, there is a chance that you all might fail." continued Kakashi, "Feel free to use any weapons, including shuriken, and kunai. If you're prepared to kill me, you won't get the bells."

"K-Kill...? But, those weapons are dangerous..." Hinata protested. She didn't like to hurt people in generally, and killing was going overboard.

"Oh? I guess this a little much for the wallflower of the Hyuga clan." Kakashi said. Hinata froze to that statement.

"Hey, don't insult Hinata! She can't help being who she is!" Naruto yelled in Hinata defense. That made her happy. "And decides, your one to talk sensei. You couldn't even dodge that eraser." Naruto grinned.

"Class clowns are usually the weakest of the bunch. Ignoring them is safe. Lowest scores. Losers." Kakashi insults. He was gentle with Hinata, but his words towards Naruto made his blood boil too. Hinata showed signs of visible anger as well.

Naruto, is his anger, quickly took out a kunai knife, and quickly charged at Kakashi with the full intend of destroying him. However, Kakashi, being a Jonin, moves so quickly that not even Sasuke or Hinata could see him. He stopped Naruto's movements by placing on hand on the boy's head, and used the other to hold the hand Naruto's kunai, and keep it pointed at his neck, only a few inches away.

"Don't be in such a hurry. I never said you can begin yet." Kakashi said in a calm fashion. He released the struggling Naruto seconds later.

"So fast..." Hinata though with a obviously surprised look on her face. She couldn't even see, even if she had her Byakugan.

"So he is a Jonin..." Sasuke thought, with his eye like steel.

"I'm actually starting to like you guys, though. You came at with the full intension of destroying me." Kakashi said.

All of his students began showing signs of bashfulness and embarrassment. Naruto and Sasuke had slight blush in their cheeks, Hinata however had full red cheeks. Getting praise from a teacher on the first day doesn't happen every day. At least his first impression the other day didn't last long, or so they thought.

"Alright. When I give the word, you may begin." said Kakashi. The three Genin pause all movement, waiting for their sensei's word. "Ready... begin!"

With that, the three quickly scatter.

* * *

BW: That's chapter 03. This is the shortest chapter so far. Next chapter, there's going to be some action, and there will changes to how it ends, that I promise. See ya soon.


	4. Chapter 4: Kakashi's Test

**Hinata: Team Heart chapter 04: Kakashi's test**

BW: Back again with chapter 04. I'm currently having problems with my computer and trying to get it fixed, so don't expect chapters to come in too soon. I'm trying to focus a lot of my efferts in on this sotry, and a few others. So let's get started on this chapter right now.

**(I don't own Naruto or series content)**

* * *

Early this morning, at the main house of the Hyuga clan, Hiashi and Hanabi are getting in some morning practice.

Hanabi moves swiftly to attack Hiashi with her Gentle Fist, but Hiashi blocks each attack with precise percessionm given how experienced he is in the family art.

"Strike faster, Hanabi!" Hiashi ordered his second daughter.

"Hai!" Hanabi complies, forcing her attacks faster. She doubles back, and tries for a charge at her father. He easily avoids, but that doesn't stop her. She continues her assault.

Finally after a while, the two decided to take a break. They sat on the porch, and drank tea, relaxing as the time passed by.

"You're imporving quite nicely, Hanabi." said Hiashi.

"Thank you Father." said Hanabi, "Your training has made me stronger."

Hiashi smiled to this.

"But, can ask you something Father? Why make me the leader of the Hyuga clan, and my sister?" Hanabi asked. This came as a surprise to Hiashi at first.

"Because, Hinata isn't strong like you. She's kind and gentle, and doesn't like to inflict pain when necessary." Hiashi explains.

"But, isn't that enough? Being kind and gentle?" inquired Hanabi.

"Sometimes, it isn't." Hiashi stated, "Her will is far too weak. That is why she can't succeed as the leader of this clan."

"Her will is weak...? That's just sad..." Hanabi thought. She didn't protest further.

He looks up at the clouds, and remembered that Hinata has gone off to train with her team and their sensei. "That reminds me. Hinata must be training with her new team. I believe she said that her sensei's name was Kakashi Hatake."

"Kakashi Hatake?" asked Hanabi.

Hiashi has heard rumors about Kakashi's abilites as a ninja. He aslo remembered, that Kakashi didn't have many students. Hiashi stood up.

"Hm? What is it, Father?" Hanabi asked her father.

"I need to run an errand. I'll be back." Hiashi said, and departs, "Today's lessons are over."

Hanabi is left confused.

**(-Hokage's Office: several minutes later-)**

Hiashi arrived at the Hokage's office afte leaving the Hyuga clan's manner. He saw a Chuunin by the name of Iruka Unimo, who was the instructor for Hinata, and the other graduated Genins class at the academy. He was highly concerned about their newly assigned teacher, and wanted to speak with the Hokage about it.

"Hello, Hiashi-dono. Is something troubling you that you came all this way to see me?" politely asked the Third Hokage.

Hiashi sees Iruka, and thought that maybe this wasn't the best time, "No, it's nothing ergant. Perphaps another time." Hiashi answered, and was about to leave, but...

"Wait. Now that you've come all this way, why not stay a while?" invited the Hokage, "Besides, I have a feeling you and Iruka didn't come all this way just to chat, am I right?"

That's when Hiashi decided to stay, "Very well. My daughter, Hinata was placed in Team 7. Yet she hasn't disclosed who else is on that team." Hiashi turns to Iruka, "I'm sure you'd know which team members are there, right? Since you're an intructor at the academy.

"Yes. She was placed in Team 7 with Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha."

"Naruto Uzumaki, and Sasuke Uchiha?" Hiashi inquires. The Uchiha clan can be considered rivals of the Hyuga clan. Sadly they were wipped out. He didn't have a particular dislike for Naruto, but he didn't have much care for him either, since he's an outsider to the Hyuga clan. Beside, he's more worried about the clan, anyway.

"Yes. And I heard that the Jonin in charge of Team 7 is Kakashi Hatake." Iruka added.

"So, it was true. Hinata had told me the name of her sensei. I've heard some rumors about him." Hiashi said, and turned to the Third, "Which brings us to the point. How strong a trainer is he?" he asked the Third.

"Are you concerned about Kakashi?" the Third Hokage asked.

"No. I'm just curious." Hiashi claimed.

"Well, I am. I've heard rumors about his training methods." Iruka states. That is specifully why he came here in the first place.

That's when, the Third takes out a record book, and placed on his desk.

"What's this?" Iruka asked.

"A record of trainees ever assign to him. Those who pass, and those who failed." the Third explained.

Iruka takes the record off the desk, and opens it. Hiashi, with his curiosity peaked, decided he wanted a look to. What they find is shocking, to say the least.

**(-Third Training Ground-)**

Kakashi stood in the middle of the training ground. His students have hidden themselves from sight. From what they remembered from their training, ninja must hide to effectively conceal their movements. Sasuke hid high in the trees, while Hinata hid in the bushes. Where was Naruto however?

"Hmm... they hidden themselves quite well. Seems they got that much." Kakashi said. However, he is somewhat surprised to hear footsteps approaching him.

He saw Naruto, his arms folded, and with a face ready for battle, he proudly declares "You and me, right now! Let's fight! Fair and Sqaure!"

Kakashi became somewhat preplexed at Naruto's behavior.

"That bonehead..." Sasuke muttered while hiding in his branches.

Hinata smiled, glad knowing how confident Naruto is. A chuckle followed soon after.

"You know, compared to the others, your kind of weird." Kakashi commented.

"The only weird here is your haircut!" Naruto yelled, and dashes forward, ready for a fight. He stops a few feet when he noticed Kakashi reaching for something in his back packet bag. Whatever it is, it can't be good.

"Shinobi battle skills, part 1... Teijutsu: The physical art. Allow me to show you..." Kakashi said, almost as if he was lecturing.

As far as Naruto knew, Taijutsu is all about hand to hand combat, however, was there a reason for Kakashi to be reach for a weapon? The thing Kakashi was grabbing however wasn't a weapon of any kind. It turned out to be a some kind of novel, entitled, 'Make Out Paradise'. From what the title and the picture on it implies, it must be some kind of "naughty" novel.

Naruto was confused when he saw it. Why does his sensei have a book like that in the first place?

"What's the problem? Go ahead and make your move." said Kakashi.

"But... what's with the book?" Naruto asked.

"Isn't it obvious? I wanna find out what happens in the story, of course." answered Kakashi, "Don't worry about it. With your weak attacks, I doubt you'll be much of threat. Probably won't matter if I'm reading or whatever."

This pushed Naruto's last button, "I'LL FLATTEN YOU!" he roared as he lunges forward to attack Kakashi. However, the Jonin, with practically no effort, dodged and blocked every uncordinated attack Naruto threw at him. WHILE, he was still reading his book.

Eventually, after when last vain strike, Naruto lots sight of his opponent. Kakashi had disappeared in a puff of smoke. A favorite for any elite ninja. Naruto stood there, dumbfounded that his opponent disappeared just like that.

"Don't let your enemies behind so much, dummy." Kakashi said, as he appeared behind Naruto. He squaded down, while he had his hands in a Hand Sign, with his first two fingers pointed upward.

Hinata sees what's going from where she's hiding, and immediately recognized that hand sign, "That Hand Sign... isn't that... the Sign of the Tiger?" she wonders. That's a dangerous hand sign. A horrified expression appeared on her face, "W-Wait! Don't tell he's going to...?"

Meanwhile, Sasuke is also watching, more calmly, "That hand sign is for a Fire Jutsu. So that joker's not just messing around with Naruto?" Sasuke thought. It seems Kakashi plans to demolish Naruto with that Jutsu.

"Naruto-kun, run! He'll destroy you!" Hinata cried to Naruto, who was too slow reaction in time.

"Too late." Kakashi said, prepares for his finishing move on Naruto, who is, again, too slow.

Fearing what could happened, Hinata recklessly dashed out of her hiding out, in attempt to at least help her teammate.

"Leaf Village, Secret Figure Jutsu!" Kakashi yelled out, with a sudden thrusts of his hands, and a twinkle in his visible eye, Kakashi jabs his figures upward, into Naruto's rear end. "**A THOUSAND YEARS OF DEATH!**" Kakashi's thrusted figures made Naruto jump at a comically far distance, while screaming humorously in discomfort at his butt being poked.

Hinata stopped in her tracks, and froze in place. From ear to ear, she blushed at the sight. "That... wasn't a Ninjutsu tenqinue...?" she asked herself.

"... They're boneheads... all of them..." Sasuke whispers to himself.

Naruto, after his great flight, landed in the river.

"Well, that was fun." Kakashi said, and then turned around to face Hinata, "So, my little wallflower. Are you next?"

Hinata, knowing that she exposed herself just now, gets into battle position. Unlike Naruto, instead of charging in recklessly, she waits, and watches her opponent carefully. If she lets Kakashi play around with her like he did with Naruto, then there's no chance for her to get a bell.

"Careful. I could get you the same way, I did him." Kakashi teasingly warned the girl before him. She suddenly blushed. She staggered back a little. Naturally any girl her age would be embarrassed to hear that.

Sasuke, while Hinata has Kakashi distracted, decides he wants try a sneak attack, with his kunai.

Meanwhile, Naruto, while still in the water, refuses to give up. He tosses out two shuriken. Their target: Kakashi Hatake. However, with his back turned, Kakashi caught the two shuriken by the holes with two figures.

Hinata is shocked, and amazed that Kakashi can put so little effort in countering even a sneak attack.

She wasn't the only one. Sasuke is now hesitant to attack. After seeing this, he now knows that this Jonin doesn't drop his guard so easily.

**(-Meanwhile: Hokage's Office-)**

"T-This is..." Iruka was nearly speechless at what he had just seen in the record book.

Hiashi remained calm, but even he seemed shocked. "So... this is a record of all the students assigned to this Kakashi Hatake?" Hiashi asked.

"That's right." the Third asnwered.

"No way! This is far worse than the rumors I've heard!" Iruka said.

"Kakashi's test is a little more difficult than normal." said the Third.

"A little? No one has ever passed his test!" Iruka retorted.

"Yes, Kakashi has never passed any of the Genin placed under his wing. And they were eliminated." the Third replied.

"So... failure is almost certain..." Hiashi thought.

**(-Third Training Ground-)**

Naruto crawled his way out of river.

"Naruto-kun!" Hinata cried, relieved to see he's okay. But, he seems sluggish, most likely due to hunger.

"What's the matter with you? You won't get a bell by noon, or get lunch, if you're like this." Kakashi said.

"I got that already!" Naruto snapped, and now feels his stomach growling.

"Somebody looks wobbly." teased Kakashi, "And you said you were going successed the Hokage one day. That's kind of disapointing, especially in your state." Kakashi added, turning his back.

"I'm starving over here, dammit! How the hell am I supposed to fight when I'm hungry?!" Naruto bellowed.

At that moment, Sasuke heard his own tummy roaring. Naturally, he feels embarrassed about it.

Hinata as well. Plus with the addition skipping out on dinner last night, she has it worse. Kind of a bad idea to go on a diet now, don't you think?

As Kakashi walks away while reading his book, Naruto continues to yell, "I was off guard for a second! That's all!" yelling like that only tired him out more.

"Naruto-kun..." Hinatat thought, feeling sorry for him. She was starting to wish she at least packed a lunch box for after this training exorcise; not only for just her teammates, but especially for Naruto to enjoy.

"Damn... I'm so hungry... I can't even move..." Naruto muttered. But, wasn't going to let that stop him. He's going to get those bells, no matter what. He can't affort to fail. His dream depended on it. "I'm not gonna lose here... no way in hell..." Naruto growled.

Kakashi still ignored him.

Hinata noticed something at the river. It almost looked like something was moving under the water. Not one thing. Multiple things.

"I will become a ninja!" Naruto declared. Suddenly, the figures in the water reveal themselves, by jump from under the water, and out in the open. Kakashi turned around see seven; count them, seven Narutos.

"S-Seven... there are seven... Naruto-kun's!" Hinata uttered in pure disbelief. What's more, they weren't after images either. They were real, and they running towards their opponent.

Sasuke wasn't surprised, since he saw first hand the other day what Naruto was actually capable of. During lunch yesterday, Naruto jumped Sasuke with his Shadow Clones, and tied him up for unknown reasons to him.

Neither was Kakashi. He remembered hearing about Naruto being able to create Shadow Clones. He also remembered the incident with Naruto and Mizuki, where Naruto first demonstrated his ability to create said clones, and defeated the trecherous Chunin with ease. Iruka himself was a witness to it.

"A high class skill, and he took down Mizuki with it." Kakashi thought.

The Naruto's clones stood their ground against Kakashi.

"Nice work, but it looks like you can't keep up for too longer." Kakashi said, "You talk like a big shot, but your still the worst student. There's no way you can beat me with-" Kakashi was abruptly interupted. The bells attached to his flak jacket dounced upward thanks to a sudden change in movement. Apparently, a Naruto clone had caught a hold of the Jonin from behind. "What? From behind...?" a shocked Kakashi cried.

Sasuke was actually surprised himself. To think, Naruto, or even one of his clones for that matter, managed to sneak up on a Jonin. Hinata showed an excited smile. She never saw Naruto do a move like that, and needlessly to say, she was highly impressed.

"Hehe! Weren't you the one who said not to let enemies get behind you, Kakashi-sensei? Take your own advice!" the Naruto clone said. Meanwhile, the other clones grabbed Kakashi's legs and held them down, so that he wouldn't escape.

"While you were distracted, I had one of clones come out of the river, and sneak up on you!" the real Naruto said, as he leapt to the air, and prepares to land a strike on Kakashi. "This is getting me in the butt back there!"

"Naruto-kun... your so cool." Hinata said, with her cheeks red as usual.

Even Sasuke was impressed, "Nice... a diversion..."

"Raaah! Those bells are mine!" Naruto boasted, ad stroke his... opponent? The one Naruto hit was... Naruto? "Huh...?"

The clones fell to the ground, the one who got punched cried out in pain, "Ouch!"

"N-Naruto-kun... hit... Naruto-kun...?!" Hinata shockingly asked in her head.

"Y-You..." Naruto paused for a seoncd before he lost his temper, "You're Kakashi-sensei, aren't you! You transformed into me using some kind of Jutsu!" he yelled. Pretty soon, he and other Shadow Clones began to fight with each other, to see which one was the fake. They called each other by names, and insulted each other, as they continued to beat each other up.

"N-Naruto-kun, wait...! Don't fight...!" Hinata tried to stop the Naruto's from beating themselves up. None of them were listening or even paying attention. Noticing this, she took a deep breath, and yelled out "Naruto-kun!"

"WHAT?!" the Narutos asked yelly.

"W-Why don't you just... undo the Jutsu?" Hinata asked, "That why, only the two of you will remain, and we can see which on is the fake..." she said. To be honest, seeing so many Naruto's in place was a little too much for her imagine to conphrehend.

"Oh, that's not a bad iead! Why didn't I think of that?" a Naruto clone asked.

"You're the genius, stupid! Why didn't you think of it?" inquired another clone.

"'Cause your stupid, stupid!" yelled the first clone. The others called each other stupid as well.

"Just undo the Jutsu!" yelled another clone. Like that, the clones disappear, only there wasn't two standing there. There was only one, Naruto Uzumaki. He just stood there, dumbfounded at being the only one there. He shed a few tears.

"H-He's not here...?" Hinata was also baffled. Kakashi, transformed into Naruto or not, was nowhere to be seen.

Sasuke, however, wasn't so fooled. "Figures... he used a Replacement Jutsu." Sasuke said. He knew that a Replacement Jutsu can be used to fool an enemy ninja into attacking a log or rock, leaving him open for an counter attack. In Kakashi's case, he allowed himself to be caught, and then quickly switched bodies with one of Naruto's clones, and when Naruto looked like nailed him, but was just attacking himself. That Jonin made it look so easy, he made Naruto look completely stupid.

"Naruto-kun, are you okay...?" Hinata asked, with worry in her voice.

"Uhhh..." Naruto groaned, before he noticed something on the ground near the tree. It was one of the bells Kakashi had strapped to his flak jacket. "A bell?!" he bellowed in shock. He grins gleefully seconds later, "My attack most've made him drop it! Lucky!" he boasts, and dashes over to claim his prize.

"W-Wait! Naruto-kun, that's a-" Hinata once again tried to warn Naruto, but it was too late. Naruto fell into "... a trap..."

In moments, Naruto found himself bouncing around in the air, and dangling by his feets, caught in a tight rope. "W-What the...?!" Naruto uttered.

"Of course it was a trap." Sasuke said, "That Jonin doesn't let his guard down, even he's fighting total idiots."

"Ugh... gah... Hinata! Don't just stand there! Help me out!" Naruto yelled to Hinata. She was about to, but froze when Kakashi reappeared, and took the bell off the ground.

The Jonin sighed, "Think before you use a Jutsu, or else your opponent might take advantage of it and use it against you." Kakashi lectures, "And one more thing. If the bait is obvious... don't take it, dummy."

"Argh!" Naruto bets angry again, but can't quite do anything will strung up like that.

"A ninja must see through desception." said Kakashi, and shifts his attention to Hinata, "Any ninja should know that, right Hinata. I'm sure you could have told him that."

"U-Um... well..." Hinata began fidgetting again.

"Hey! I got it already!" Naruto yelled.

"No you don't. I'm telling you this, because you don't get." Kakashi turned his back, and sets his full attention to Naruto, "You may think you get it, but it's not the same thing as getting it, dummy."

Meanwhile, Sasuke, seeing Kakashi finally lowering his guard, does not hesitate to throw several kunai and shurikan. Their target: Kakashi Hatake.

"Man, you're just-Urgh!" Kakashi was interupted by the weapons Sasauke had just launched. They hit their mark, in the bloodiest fashion.

Hinata, seeing what just happened, shut her eyes away from the horror and blood.

Meanwhile, Naruto flips out, "Whoaa! He just got hit with shiruken! Sasuke, that was overkill! Seriously!" Naruto shouts to Sasuke.

However, just as their sensei was seemingly falling to his death, his body turns into a poof of smoke, and reveals a log, covered in shuriken and kunai. Kakashi had used another Replacement Jutsu. Now realizing his mistake, and that revealed his hidding place, Sasuke quickly moves away, and heads deeper into the forest area. Meanwhile, Kakashi, who was hiding nearby, figured out Sasuke's movements, and goes after him.

Using her Byakugan, Hinata tries to track Sasuke and Kakashi-sensei down, but couldn't find them. They must have gotten too far for her to see.

"Rgh! Ugh... gah... a little help here!" Naruto shouted to Hinata, surprising her a bit.

"Ah! I-I'm sorry...!" Hinata apologized. She quickly takes a kunai knife, and throws at the rope, hoping that it'll cut Naruto down without hurting him. It was successful, but Naruto had to take a long fall. "Naruto-kun!"

"Ow..." the boy groaned at he fell in the dirt. Hinata rushes over with another kunai, and is about to cut the ropes off.

"I'm going to have these off in a sec. Please, hold still..." Hinata cuts the rope around Naruto's ankles, and freed him from the trap. "Are you okay, Naruto-kun?" she asks.

"Dammit! I'm not about let those two get the better of me!" growled Naruto, and was about to go after Sasuke and Kakashi. However, out of reflex, Hinata quickly grabbed Naruto by his jacket before he had a chance to head off into more danger.

"Wait, Naruto-kun!" Hinata cries.

"What now?!" Naruto snapped.

"U-Um... maybe, instead of just going after Kakashi-sensei... we should go and regroup with Sasuke..." Hinata suggests, but Naruto doesn't seem interested. In fact, he's not interested at all.

"Regroup with Sasuke? Are you kidding?" Naruto jeered.

"B-But, we can't just leave Sasuke-kun alone...! Sensei might be too much for him by himself, and could need our help...!" said Hinata, trying to back up her words.

"Sasuke doesn't need help. In fact, he wants nothing to do with us, so why bother?" asked Naruto, annoyed. He didn't to stay here and chat all day, he has to get those bells before the times up.

"But... still..." Hinata hesitated. She began togging on Naruto's jacket, still not wanting him to go.

"Hey, you can let go, you know." Naruto suggests, groing frustrated.

"Wha... I-I..." Hinata studdered. She started to feel Naruto frustration. She lowered her head. This is actually the first time she's touched Naruto. She should be happy about that much, but...

"Geez, what am I going to do with you? Just stay here already! You're only going to get in the way!" Naruto said, with a careless and thoughtless attitude. Upon hearing that, Hinata whip her head back up in utter shock. Did she hear that, right?

"... I-I'm... in... the way...?" Hinata asked, her voice shaking with each word.

"Yes, that's what I said! I'm never gonna get a bell at this rate!" Naruto stated, angrily.

Why is he so angry? Does he only care about the bells? Does he not care what happens to either of his teammates? Does he even care about Hinata? Those are some of the thoughts rolling around in Hinata's mind. Was she really in Naruto's way, dragging him and Sasuke down? Just... in the way...

Hinata swallowed a lump of saliva in her throat, and lowered her head again to hide her face, and then go of Naruto's jacket, "I'm... sorry..." she mumbled, sinking down to her knees, slowly, and silently.

"Good! I'll be back, so don't go anywhere!" Naruto said, and dashed off, leaving Hinata alone.

Drops of tears began to flow from the young Hyuga girl's eyes, down to her knees, as she began subbing, "... Naruto-kun..."

**(-Meanwhile: mid forest area of the training ground-)**

Sasuke stood there, looking around to see if had lost the Jonin. He doubted highly. Jonins are elites. They don't lose their prey so easily in the hunt.

"You're pretty fast. Compared to Naruto, I'd say you might be more of a challenge." said Kakashi's voice.

"... I'm not like Naruto, or that Hyuga girl. I'm different from other people." Sasuke states, without even turning back, because he knew full well that Kakashi was right behind him. Naturally, the Jonin had the bells with him, and this is his chance to show this joker what he's made of.

"Why don't you say after you get the bells, _Sasuke-kun_." Kakashi teased.

Meanwhile, Naruto continues his search for Kakashi and Sasuke. In his mind, he chants "Gotta get those bells! Gotta get those bells!"

* * *

BW: There, you see? There are changes in the story. Obviously, instead of going off looking for Sasuke and Kakashi, Hinata decided to stay and help Naruto, and Sasuke and Kakashi confront each other early on. Needless to say, I felt pretty bad for making Naruto sound like a total jerk to Hinata. It's part of drama, so it can't be helped. Anyway, see you next chapter.


	5. Chapter 5: Decision

**Hinata: Team Heart chapter 05: Decision**

BW: Back again with chapter 05. This chapter, there will be a magor change in the story, and major drama. Maybe, I should change a catagery to Drama. What do you think? Anyway, no time for questions. Let's go!

**(I don't own Naruto or series content)**

* * *

Naruto runs through the trees and bushes, searching for Sasuke and Kakashi. There was no way that he was going to let Sasuke get a bell before he did.

"I'm not gonna lose to those jerks! I won't let Sasuke show me up!" Naruto thought as he runs faster. Eventually he comes across something odd.

When he steps out of the bushes and out in the open, he notices something at the ground, or rather, in the ground.

He saw a head, belonging to his rival and teammate, Sasuke Uchiha. While his body was stuck below the ground, his head was popping out.

Naruto stared, wide eyed at Sasuke.

"Naruto..." Sasuke said.

"HAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAA!" Naruto suddnely broke out in hysterical laughter at Sasuke.

"Grr..." Sasuke groaned. Of course, Naruto couldn't resist the laughter.

Naruto continue to howl like a hyena.

**(-Third Training Ground: Field-)**

All alone in the middle of the field, she sat. Her legs huddled together, and back against the tree. Tears flowing down her face, and her heart broken. She felt bitter about herself, and about her own role in this test.

She began to remember things. Thing that reminded her of what her teammate Naruto just said to her.

Sakura's angry words, _"Now I can't, because you're in the way"_ her father's advice, _"Don't drag them down"_ and Naruto's frustration towards her, _"You're only going to get in the way! I'm never gonna get a bell at this rate"_

"Has been what I've been doing this whole time?" she asked herself, "Am I only in the way of everyone around me? Dragging them down?" her tears continue flowing from her eyes. She began to wonder why she was really here to begin with.

All she did was stand there, while Naruto and Sasuke had done all they can to prove their mantle against their sensei, Kakashi. She wanted to do her best too, but was it not enough? Are her own skills not good enough for Kakashi, or even her father to ackeknowledge? Is she not cut out to be a ninja? All of these questions, pleagued her, just like the pain in her heart.

However, she suddenly remembered the words Hanabi spoke to her, "I think you would make a great leader, if you put your heart in it"

"My heart..." Hinata muttered. She placed her hand over her chest.

"Hello!" called a voice. She quickly turned to see a familiar face.

**(****-Third Training Ground: Forest area-)**

Naruto and Sasuke, who had found a way to pull himself out of his perdicament earlier, strolled their way to the training field.

Naruto was still snickering however. He couldn't let go of the image of Sasuke being stuck in the ground after his own confrontation with Kakashi.

Sasuke, growing irritated turning to Naruto, "Stop laughing! It's not funnny!" he yelled.

"Oh, but it is! Haha!" Naruto giggled, "The mighty Sasuke Uchiha got buried by a Jonin!"

"Grr... you're so annoying!" Sasuke grumbled.

"Hehehehe... maybe what Hinata said about you needing help was true, after all!" Naruto grinned, "I bet you couldn't even grab a bell..."

Naruto was having way to much fun with this. Sasuke decided it was time to end this fun.

"Hmph! You won't be laughing when you hear this." said Sasuke.

"Hear what?" Naruto asked, albeit still giggly.

"I managed to touch a bell." grinned Sasuke.

Naruto stopped laughing. In fact, he froze all together. Silence filled the air for a moment.

"WHAT?!" Naruto screamed.

"See? Told you, you'd stopped laughing, dropout." Sasuke said.

"Dammit... I'm falling behind. I can't give up. I gotta get one of those bells!" Naruto said, and ran ahead.

That's when Sasuke thought of something. "Wait." Sasuke said.

Naruto stopped and turned back, "What now!" Naruto snapped.

"Where is the Hyuga girl?" he asked Naruto. He was with her last time he saw them.

"What 'Hyuga girl'? She's got a name, you know! It's Hinata!" Naruto yelled, "Anyway, I left her back at the training ground."

"Are you a total moron?" rudely asked Sasuke, "If she's left alone, the Jonin could easily get her too."

Naruto froze again, this time with confusion. Why would Kakashi-sensei target Hinata? Naruto thought that she didn't seem to have as much drive as himself or Sasuke, so why? But, another thought struck him. He left her all by herself, unprotected, and defensless.

"Oh, crap..." Naruto muttered, with a distressed look about him, and sprinted off back to the training ground, in hopes that Kakashi-sensei hasn't come across Hinata yet.

"That's what I thought." Sasuke said, and dashed after Naruto.

**(-Third Training Ground: Field-)**

Hinata is met face to face with Kakashi himself again. He reappeared right next to her, causing her to jump to her feet and step back to keep her distance. She had got into battle position again.

"Well, looks like your the last one to try her luck." Kakashi said, "I wonder if I should try Genjutsu, second Shinobi battle skill. Sasuke couldn't be me at the third skill, Ninjutsu. I wonder what you'll do."

Hinata stood silently. Know that her sensei's a Jonin, she knew he won't let his gaurd down around her.

"You know, you could've gone after Naruto and Sasuke, so why choose to stay here?" Kakashi asked her. He noticed the wetness of Hinata's eyes and cheeks. "Hmm... maybe you weren't being much help to them, and wanted to stay out of their way? Particularly Naruto's way?" Kakashi guessed. He guessed right.

Having had enough standing around doing nothing, Hinata decided to attack. She lunged forward, and thrusted her palms forward to strike Kakashi. Her heart wasn't totally in it though. She couldn't concentrate on what she was doing. Her mind wandered back to Naruto's words from before. That, and she didn't really want to fight or inflict pain, given her passive nature.

Kakashi saw this, and easily avoid most of Hinata's attacks, while she wasn't totally focused.

"It's useless to attack, especially when you can't concentrate." said the Jonin, barely even breaking a sweat. Eventually, Kakashi halted the young girl's assualt by restraining her arm behind her back with one hand, and wrapped the other around her neck. Now she can't move. "And, your intent to do harm is lacking."

She struggled to get free, but sadly the Jonin was way stronger then her, and her, much physically weaker.

"Waste as much strength as you like. You won't get free." said Kakashi, tightly restraining her.

"Ugh... p-please... Kakashi-sensei... it hurts..." Hinata pleads. He was starting to choke her a little.

"Please? It hurts? Unlike you, I had no intention on being gentle. Always expect an enemy to attack with every bit of intention to kill whenever in a fight, and never show signs of hesitation. I'm sure your father taught at least that much." said Kakashi.

Hinata knew that hesitating would be a bad idea, but she couldn't help it, knowing who she is. Being reminded of her father's neglect was a sore subject for her. She stopped struggling, and started sobbing again, wishing that she were stronger then this. Stronger then this weak, shy self.

**(-Hokage's Office-)**

There is a tense feeling in the Hokage's Office.

"Kakashi never passes a single student... he fails all of them..." Iruka said in shock.

Upon learning of Kakashi's training methods, and the fact that he fails ever single student assigned to him, Hiashi decided to leave, knowing that there is nothing else for him here.

"Hiahsi-sama, where are you-" Iruka was about to ask.

"I'm returning home." said Hiashi.

"I take it this settles the matter of which you came?" The Third asked.

"Yes." answered Hiashi.

"But, what about your daughter, Hinata? What if she fails?" Iruka asked.

"Then, she has failed." Hiashi replied, surprising Iruka, "If she cannot become a Genin, then I cannot argue the point. In the end, Hinata was doomed to fail from the start. There is no reason for me to expect anything of her abilities. Now, if you'll excuse me."

Hiashi is about to take this leave. However, Iruka plinched his fist in bitter anger towards the man who is Hinata's father. She has wanted nothing but her father's acknowledgement and respect, but has never been able to get it because of her weakness.

Having heard Hiashi's words, Iruka couldn't... no, didn't hold back, "How dare you?! Is that how you truly treat your own daughter?!" Iruka called out to Hiashi, "Hinata has worked hard to get where she is, and you don't even care if she fails?! How can you call yourself a father and-"

"Iruka!" the Third interupts Iruka from going further.

"H-Hokage-sama...?" Iruka uttered. From the look in eyes, they were telling him to stop and regain his composure. Although, still feeling a tad upset, Iruka turns to Hiashi and bows politely, "Please, forgive me. I didn't mean it." he apologized.

Hiashi left soon after. He didn't show any sign of emotion. He just called walked out the door.

**(-Third Training Ground-)**

The moment she stopped struggling and began sobbing again, Kakashi felt a sense of disappointment that Hinata's will is this weak. He sighed to himself. Maybe he said a little too much.

"Naruto-kun... help me..." Hinata whispers to herself.

"Hinata!" Naruto's voice shouts. The former and Sasuke finally arrive.

"Naruto-kun! Sasuke-kun!" Hinatat cried. They actually came for her?

"Hey! Let go of Hinata!" Naruto demanded.

"Well, you two sure arrived late." said Kakashi, not really surprised, "I see you managed to get yourself out of that hole, eh Sasuke?" Kakashi teased.

Sasuke gave no response, but a ready to fight glare.

"I said let go of Hinata! That's no way to treat a girl, you know!" Naruto yelled at Kakashi.

"Should you really be talking Naruto?" Kakashi asked.

"Huh?" Naruto had gotten confused by Kakashi's words.

"You know, time's almost up." Kakashi said, "What will you do?"

"Who cares abou the time! I'm gonna-" Naruto's words were abruptly halted, when his, Sasuke's, and Hinata's stomachs simultaniously gorlwed for food.

"You're gonna what? Starve youself?" Kakashi teasingly asked.

"I don't care about food right now. I don't even care about the bells, anymore... I'm gonna take you down, and save Hinata!" Naruto declared. This sparks a surprised look on Hinata. Her cheeks also went bright red again, and her heart nearly skipped a beat. Did he mean what he meant?

"Is that so? Hmmm..." Kakashi began thinking. He came what with an idea, and immediately decided to roll with it, to see how it would play out, "Alright, let's ignore the time limit then. Let's say, if you can safetly get Hinata away from me, I'll be so generous as to give you the bells as a reward, and pass you. How does that sound?"

"Deal!" Naruto eagerly agreed, "And while I'm at it, I'll beat that smug atitude right out of you!"

"Try is you must." Kakashi dared.

"Naruto-kun..." Hinata whimpered.

"Don't worry, Hinata. I'll get you out of this." Naruto smiled to Hinata. However, the real question is, how is going to do it? Naruto may not have been very smart, but he knew that if he's not careful, he could hurt her. Sensei did say safely.

**(-Hokage's Office-)**

Back at the office, Iruka stood still, standing there with his frustration slowly building.

The Hokage, sensing Iruka's distress, had this to say, "Iruka, this group is still young, and may have to face to hardships and dangerous of ninja life. But, Kakashi was currect about those he failed. Whether their decisions are right or wrong, don't resent their instructor, or Hiashi." the Third said.

Iruka remained silent. Eventually, he too was about to live the office, feeling somewhat bitter about today, however, the Hokage stopped him.

"One more thing, Iruka." said the Third. Iruka stopped in his tracks, and turned around silently. "I am sure you of all people know about Hinata's lack of self-esteem and shyness, correct?" the Third asked.

"Yes, sir." Iruka answered.

"Then consider this; what if she was placed in Kakashi's group with Naruto and Sasuke, for a particular reason?"

"Um... sir, what are you getting at?" Iruka asked, perplexed.

"What I'm getting at is, that she may have been placed on Team 7 for not only her development in her skills, but also her emotional development. You've seen her. Her painfully awkward and shy personality. Before, she could barely utter a word of her own opinion, due fear of upsetting others or not having enough courage. Now, she's with Naruto, who is her exact opposite."

"Yes, and if I'm not mistaken, she's also the only one who has never laughed at, or even insulted Naruto." said Iruka, "Although, there is an interesting reason behind that, I'm sure." Iruka added. Seems he knows about Hinata's feelings for Naruto.

"Yes." agreed the Third, "And perhaps because of those reason, she may be able break free from her shell."

"Hm?"

**(-Third Training Ground-)**

For moments, it felt like time stood still for three Genin and their Jonin instructor.

Naruto turned to Sasuke, and though it might have made his stomach turn a little, he made eye contact with him. Naruto is actually asking for help, from Sasuke.

Naturally, Sasuke had to do this as well, knowing how strong Kakashi is, he and Naruto might stand a better chance if they take him on together. Sasuke can't loss, because he won't able to fufil his ambition. He's willing to do anything necesary to achive this goal, and if he had to, he will work with a fool like Naruto.

"Hmm..." Kakashi waited, with Hinata still held captive. Seems he knows that the two boys are planning to work together this time.

Hinata wished that she didn't have to be saved like this. She's becoming a burden to her team, which she hates more than anything. But, deep down, she hoped that Naruto and Sasuke would successed in this test.

The block sudden off, signaling the start of this new challenge.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Naruto called out, doing his signature hand sign, and produced a number of Shadow Clones.

"The same trick again, huh." Kakashi sighed, unimpressed, "When will you ever learn?"

The three Naruto's, ignoring Kakashi's words, charge at the Jonin, and attempted to tackle him, despite Hinata being there. Luckily for her, Kakashi dodged each clone, however, he had not loosened his hold on her. The clone in each failed attempt fell to the ground.

Most of them had disappeared in a poof of smoke. Kakashi even kicked some of them and made them disappear. Now there's only two Naruto's left.

"It's pointless charging in head on, you know." Kakashi said. He wasn't surprised that Naruto would do the same thing again, but what about Sasuke? In fact, where is he?

Where indeed? Suddenly, Sasuke appears in front of the Jonin, surprising him a little. Sasuke attempts to swing a kick to Kakashi's face. Kakashi stepped backwords to avoid the in coming blow, but inedvertably lost control of his balanace, and loosened his grip on his hostage.

Kakashi also wasn't epecting Naruto, or at least his last clone to leap forward and trip the Jonin. Now he's let go completely, leavin the real Naruto to jump in, snatch the damsel in distress away, and get her to safety, leaving the Jonin to fall on his rear, while the Naruto clone disappears.

Time once again stopped, but only for a moment. The two were successful in getting Hinata away from Kakashi, whilist working together, albeit in a strange way.

"We did it..." Naruto muttered, in pure disbelief. He couldn't believe that his plan actually worked. He turned his attention to Hinata. "Hinata, you okay?" Naruto asked.

Hinata looked up at Naruto, and saw his face. He seemed generally worried.

"Naruto... kun..." Hinata blushed as she gazed int Naruto's blue eyes. Time stood still once again, this time for Hinata and Naruto. They just stare at each other for some reason.

"Ahem." Kakashi interupts the moment, "Naruto... your hand." Kakashi points out to Naruto.

Naruto didn't know where his hand was, until Kakashi gave him the hint. He looks down, and notices that his arm was indeed wrapped around Hinata's body, but his hand had touched were it wasn't supposed to. It was groping her chest.

Hinata noticed this as well, and turned crimzon red, and let shrill shriek of embarrassment.

"Eh! I-I'm sorry!" Naruto quickly apologized, while blushing as well. He faced the other way from Hinata, who also turned the other way, away from him to hide her face. Her heart was beating rapidly. That was the first Naruto touched her, but she wasn't quite expecting that to happen.

"Idiot..." Sasuke muttered.

"Right... putting that aside, I'm actually impressed." Kakashi said, as he began to stand up on his feet, "I honestly didn't think you'd team up against like that, Naruto, Sasuke. And you successed in rescuing your teammate. Nice work."

"S-So, does that mean...?" Naruto began getting teary.

"That's right. You guys get to keep the bells. Just as I promised." smiled Kakashi.

Naruto summons up a big grin, and cheered, "Yeah! We did it! We did it!"

Hinata is happy that Naruto was happy. She smiled warmly, despite her face still a little flustered. She was caught off guard by a tight squeeze from Naruto.

"We did it, Hinata!" Naruto cried as he happily hugged Hinata. He forgot about that embarrassing moment they had just now. Hinata immediately forgot as well. She was stunned while Naruto was hugging onto her.

"Naruto-kun is... he's... hugging me..." Hinata thought, with a dumbfounded expression. Her heart beats faster.

Sasuke however, didn't seem so cheery.

"Sasuke, I know this isn't your style, but we gotta celebrate!" Naruto said to the Sasuke.

"Idiot." Sasuke said.

"Huh?"

"It's too early to be so cheerful." said Sasuke, with a darken expression on his face. Naruto and Hinata are confused.

"Sasuke's right. There is a catch." said Kakashi, "Remember what I said about only two of you will become Genin when you get a bell? Well, that rule still applies, and I make the rules."

"What?!" Naruto gasps, totally shocked again.

"N-No way..." Hinata distressed.

"There's only two bells. While two of us have to keep a bell and go on as Genin, one of us has to take the fall, and go back to the academy." said Sasuke.

"Exactly. Just choose which one is going to fall back to the academy, while the rest get to become official Genin." said Kakashi.

"H-Hold on a minute!" Narut exclaimed as he jumped to his feet. Hinata followed suit. "How are suppose to choose which one has to go?" ha asked.

"Ordinarily, I'd choose you to the one to stay at the academy." Sasuke said.

"Say what?!"

"But, since you have some talent, there's no point in letting you stay behind." Sasuke states. Naruto blushed a little bit. Did he really hear that right? "But, there's still the matter, of who has to take the fall." Sasuke shifts his gaze towards Hinata, who didn't really seem surprised.

"Wait, what? You can't be serious, can you?" Naruto asks Sasuke.

"I have my ambition, remember? Giving up here, means giving up my goal, and I can't have that." Sasuke answers.

This makes Naruto, quite frankly, pissed, "So... your willing to abandon one girl... one pitifully shy girl, just for your stupid goal! Is that really all you think about?!" Naruto asked angerly at Sasuke.

Sasuke shot a angry glare at Naruto, but the orange clad boy wasn't fazed. He shot him a similiar glare at the boy in front of him. There's chaos, and Hinata was in the middle of it. If this keeps up, they'll end up fighting each other.

Hinata turns to Kakashi, hoping that he could find a way to settle this without fighting, but he was busy reading his little book, and didn't seem interested in stopping the two boys. She then shift to Naruto, and is sadden that he is sticking up for her like this.

She wants to be with him and help achive his dream of becoming Hokage, but what good was she if things like this were to happen?

"It's okay, Naruto-kun..." said Hinata, "I'll go back to the academy, so you and Sasuke-kun can become Genin."

"Wha...? B-But, Hinata.." Naruto clamped up. He couldn't believe what he just heard.

"It's really okay." Hinata assured with a smile, "I don't have a big dream or ambition like you and Sasuke-kun. I can always try again next year, and if you can achive your dream, then that's good enough for me." Hinata said, to Naruto's surprise.

"Hinata..."

"Besides... I don't want to burden you or Sasuke-kun any further then this..." she added. Her smile was slowly started to disappear, and now a sadden look starts replacing it. "Just... look at what's happen today... I'd only get in your way, and drag you down if I stayed on the team..." Hinata began shedding her tender tears again.

Naruto's eyes widen when he heard that last part. That's when he realized, the words he spoke to her before had been weighing down on her, and ahve been hurting her this whole time, and he was too ignorant to realize it.

"'You're only going to get in the way'. Isn't that what you said?" Kakashi asked, while still reading. Kakashi was actually still watching Naruto and Hinata before he went after Sasuke, and managed to catch a glimsp of what happened.

Naruto looked down on himself. He remembered what Kakashi said earlier when he held Hinata hostage. So that's what he meant? He felt ashamed of himself, for treating a nice girl like Hinata like that. He has never felt so much shame before in his life. He looks at Hinata's face, and all he saw were tears of saddness, slowly falling down from her face.

She tried desprately to hold them back, but couldn't. She tried whiping them away, but they keep coming.

How could Naruto truly become Hokage, and let a girl like Hinata take the fall for him to achive this. He didn't want... he couldn't let Hinata go through with this. That's what he knew the moment he laid his eyes on those tears.

"You can't..." Naruto muttered, "You can't do it! You just can't!"

"Naruto-kun...?" Hinata mumbled as she wiped her tears. She was surprised to see him approaching her, and then he started wiping her tears for her, himself.

"You belong on this team, Hinata. That's final." Naruto declared to her as he cleans off Hinata tears. Her heart nearly skipped a beat once more. To think, Naruto could be this passionate and kind. It was almost like a dream to her. She was embarrassed, but happy as well.

After he was done wiping Hinata tears for her, he turns Sasuke, "Sasuke, whatever this ambition of is, I don't care. We're a team, and don't you forget!" he declares to Sasuke.

Sasuke normally would've scuff at such comments, but he had to admit, if he hadn't teamed up with Naruto, then he wouldn't have beat Kakashi, and get those bells. He sighed, "Whatever, just be sure make yourselves useful. Being dead weight hurts the team, and jeopardize the mission. If I can't count on you, then there is no team."

Naruto nods to that, but Hinata is surprised. The see those two rivals agree on something so willingly. She wondered, if she had something to do with it.

**(-Hokage's Office-)**

"Hokage-sama, are you saying that there's a specific reason for Hinata be apart of Team 7?" Iruka asked.

"Originally, we had planned for Sakura Haruno to be placed in Team 7, under Kakashi. However, we had a last minute change."

"Huh? A last minute change?"

"It was a personal request, from an anonymous stranger. This stranger asked us to put Hinata and Naruto together on the same team."

"I see. So, does this anonymous stranger know you, or Hinata?" Iruka inquired.

"Actually, they are a total unknown." answered the Third.

"And you accepted it anyway?"

"I too was skeptical at first. However, it would seem they have great concern for Hinata's development and well being. It would also seem that they are aware of her affections for Naruto. Knowing of Naruto's personality, perhaps they feel that Naruto's influence will have an effect on the young girl."

"I see. They must really care about Hinata, don't they?" Iruka whole heartedly guessed. He believes that this stranger does care about Hinata. While it is unknown who this person is, maybe it's a good thing they requested for Hinata and Naruto to be together on the same time. Iruka thanked the Hokage for sharing this information, and leaves the office, now feeling better about this situations. Before he did, he promised to keep his information to himself, and not tell anyone else about it. He hopes that Naruto, Hinata, and Sasuke all pass their exam with Kakashi.

**(-Third Training Ground-)**

Kakashi suddenly closed his book, and slowly turns to face his students, "So, you have the bells, but you won't abondon a teammate?" Kakashi asked, "You're breaking the rules you know."

"Do we look like we care?" asked Sasuke.

"We're in this thing together! So screw the bells, and the rules!" Naruto retorted.

Naruto and Sasuke weren't only ones who had something defiant to say. Hinata wanted to- no, she had to say something too, other wise, she'll still be weak and she'll make Naruto and Sasuke look bad.

"We're... one! No matter what happens, the three of us are one, and we're in this together!" Hinata declared. She feels more confident now.

"You're in this together...? The three of you are one...? That's all you have to say for breaking the rules?" Kakashi inquirs, with a seemingly rising angry tone of voice. The three stand their ground in response, ready for what pushiment is awaiting them. However, beneath his mask, Kakashi simply smiled, "You pass!"

The three Genin were confused. They passed?

"What...?" Naruto asked.

"Just as I said. You pass." Kakashi repeats.

"Um... sensei...? Why...?" Hinata tried asking.

"Because, I had many canidates just like you, but they never lived up to my expection. They fell for every trap I sat up, and never learned to think for themselves." Kakashi began explaining. "If things had kept going like they should, you would have done the same. And if that happened, I would have dropped you all from the program, perminately."

The three Genin were shocked to hear this.

"Drop us from the program...? That means..." Hinata paused.

"We'd never be able to become ninja..." Naruto finished.

"At the beginning, you were like children, playing a game, and not thinking about your squad members, Naruto, Sasuke." Kakashi said, drawing confusion from the former and the latter. "Naruto, you insist on doing everything on your own, and not accepting help from anyone."

Naruto couldn't help but agree, all thanks to his thoughtless behavior towards Hinata.

"Sasuke, you think so little of your teammates, you decided they were worthless. The result from that, arrogants." Kakashi states to Sasuke, who let out a defeated sigh. "The only one among you who actually thought of her teams well being, was you, Hinata." said Kakashi to Hinata.

"M-Me...?" Hinata asked, pointing to herself.

"Yes, you." Kakashi replied, "Despite your shyness, being compassionate and helpful comes naturally to you. Being gentle and kind isn't a bad thing. Caring about others, especially your comrades, is an important of this exercise, and you got points for that."

Hinata blushed. She recieved praise from her sensei. Though she may be glad about that, but she also feels that she doesn't really decerve all of it. Naruto and Sasuke worked harder then her, so she can't have all the credit.

"However, you're also hesitant in making the right decision. You hate being a burden, but putting yourself in a life or death situation by hesitanting is a burden in itself, and it can lead... to death." Kakashi said. He pointed to big kunai staped stone close by.

The three Genin look and see the stone.

"Did you see that stone over there. It's a memoral stone, for special heroes in the Leaf Village. My close friends are engraved there." Kakashi said. He was certainly serious in every word, because there were hints of saddness as well. Knowing that he is the only one alive here, it seemed only natural that deep in his heart, he missed them.

"Sensei..." Hinata sympathized with her sensei. She lost her mother years back, and to this day, misses her deeply.

"Genin need to know the importance of teamwork to survive. True, one needs their own skills, but teamwork is very important. It didn't cross candidates minds like it did yours today." Kakashi continued, "Learning to work together, despite your differences was the true purpose of this test."

"And so, you purposely pited us against each other, using the two bells." said Sasuke, "Because there were only two, and even if we worked together to get them, it would have led to team conflict, because there were three of us, and eventually, we would've broken up." Sasuke deduced.

"Exactly." Kakashi said, "But, that's not what happened, right?"

"Tch... look at you, mister smarty pants." Naruto muttered.

"It's simple logic. How you managed to actually become a Genin is beyond me." Sasuke said, straight faced.

"What?!" Naruto snapped. He looked like he was ready to fight.

"Um, guys, there's no need to fight, so stop, please." Hinata got between them, and tried to keep the peace between them.

Kakashi watches them, and sees an image of him, and his old comrades, Obito, and Rin, and himself in their younger days. Whenever he and Obito looked like they were about to fight, Rin would always try to play peacemaker.

Hinata noticed Kakashi's gaze, while Naruto and Sasuke continue toe glare at each other, "Sensei, what's the matter?" she asked. The two boys stopped, and looked towards Kakashi.

"Oh, nothing. I was just thinking..." Kakashi paused, and looks up at the sky, "Those who break the rules are scum... but, those who abandon their friends, are worse then scum." he said.

This brought tears to Naruto's eyes. "Y-You know... he's pretty cool..." Naruto whimpered.

Hinata thought so too. She thought that maybe everything he said and did to her was an act, just to get them all together. She couldn't be more right.

Sasuke felt satified. Not only did he pass, but he learned something important. Something that he hopes he won't forget. And he's sure that his teacher can help reach his goal.

"Alright! As of today, Team 7 is formed! We start our first mission tomorrow!" Kakashi declared, while giving a thumbs up to his new found students.

"YEAH!" Naruto cheered happily. Hinata smiled happily, and vowed that she was would do her best for her team. Sasuke just smirked, having a feeling that this cheery attitude may either drive him crazy, or rub off on him a little.

"Let's go home." Kakashi said, and Team 7 begin to walk home.

**(-Leaf Village: Evening-)**

Team 7 stroll through the streets of the village, as the sun is about the set. Naruto grinned as he followed Kakashi. Hinata walks behind, watching Naruto's back as he moved forward. Sasuke was just neutral.

Hinata felt a restless. She may have been saved by Naruto today, but she yet to actually thank him, or Sasuke. She wants to thank them for their rescue, and for decision to remain a team, with her as a part of it.

"N-Naruto-kun." Hinata spoke up.

Naruto stops and turns back to face her, "Hm? What's up, Hinata?" Naruto asked.

"I just wanted to say thank you, for saving me today." Hinata said.

"Don't worry about it. We're a team. We're suppose to help each other." Naruto grinned, "Right Sasuke?"

"Hmph..." Sasuke didn't bother answering. He didn't feel like it.

"You too, Sasuke-kun." Hinata said, catching the Uchiha boy's attention, "Thank you." she thanked with a gentle smile.

Sasuke had a small amout of blush in cheeks. "Whatever." he said, and kepted walking on.

"Oh yeah, by the way Naruto." Kakashi stopped and looked back at Naruto, "You may be young, and your free to pursue your passions any way you please, but at least think about where you're going to get your recsue damsel jollies next time, okay." he said.

"My passions?" Naruto asked. He didn't know what Kakashi-sensei was talking about.

"Oh, you know. The things you do with hands when you're with a girl, right Hinata?" Kakashi said, calling on Hinata. That's when she remember what happened after Naruto rescue her from sensei, and instantly blushed.

However, it took Naruto a while to figure it out. He took one look at Hinata's face, and remembered; he accidently groped her chest after said rescue.

"H-Hey, that was a total accident, I swear!" Naruto bellowed, with his face turning red.

"Shouldn't you be saying that to her, not me?" inquired Kakashi.

Naruto turns to face Hinata, who had steam coming out of her head, meanwhile her face completely red. Both still embarrassed, and shyly quiet. Hinata could barely face. Naruto came out and said it though, "H-Hinata, that wasn't... intentional or anything..." Naruto muttered.

Hinata didn't answer. She could barely look him in the eye, she was so embarrassed.

"O-Okay, you can punch or kick, yell at me all you want, just please forgive me afterwords!" Naruto pleads, clapping his hands together in apologetic form.

"This is just pathetic." thougt Sasuke.

"U-Um... Naruto-kun..." Hinata mumbled, with her face still red, "I-It was just an accident, right?" Hinata asked him. This was odd. Normally, Naruto would get smacked around for doing something either stupid, perverted, or both all together.

"Uhh... yeah?" Naruto weakly answered.

"Then, it's okay. And you helped me too, and I'm really thankful, to you and Sasuke-kun." said Hinata.

"Wow... you're the first girl I met who takes getting groped pretty well." Naruto said, stratching the back of his head. Hinata giggled to that.

Sasuke and Kakashi just watch.

"Wanna leave them alone?" Kakashi asked Sasuke.

"Sappy stuff like this makes me sick. I'm going home." said Sasuke and took his leave.

"Well, I guess I'll go too. Naruto, why don't you walk Hinata home?" Kakashi asks of Naruto.

"Huh? You want me?" Naruto asked.

"Naruto-kun.. walk me home...?" Hinata blushed.

"C'mon you two. Is a walk so terrible?" Kakashi teased, "Anyway, be sure to remember about our first mission tomorrow." the Jonin reminded them.

"Yeah, sure! We got it!" Naruto saluted.

"Great. See you tomorrow." Kakashi said, and disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving Naruto and Hinata alone.

"S-So, shall we get going?" Naruto asks Hinata. She nobbed. She felt lucky to have the boy she likes walk her home, hoped that her father doesn't catch wind of her together with Naruto.

Unbeknownst to the two who began walking together, a mysterious man is watching them from the shadows. His name is Hiashi Hyuga, and he had a intense fire in his eyes.

* * *

BW: Longest-chapter-EVER! I don't think I've ever type a chapter this long before. But, still I hope some of you are happy with the team's character development, particularly Naruto's. I certainly feel satified. See you next chapter.


	6. Chapter 6: A Father's Curiosity

**Hinata: Team Heart chapter 06: A Father's Curiosity**

BW: Back chapter 06. This chapter is probably going to be short. It's mostly going to be about Hiashi. Let's see how he's going to react when he learns whom his daughter has a crush on. It'll probably kinda short.

**(I don't own Naruto or series content)**

* * *

Naruto and Hinata are walking home together. Strangely though, it was quiet. Mostly out of awkardness on Naruto's part, and shyness on Hinata's.

Eventually, they arrive somewhere close to the main gate of the Hyuga astate.

"I... think this is far enough, Naruto-kun." said Hinata.

"Oh, are you sure?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah, I can manage on my own." Hinata answered, "I'm sorry for all the trouble." Hinata meekly apologized.

"Like I keep saying, don't worry about it. You can just... think of this as an apology." said Naruto.

Hinata blushed, thinking he was refering to their "little accident". "N-No, I said it was alright! Accidents tend to happen, after all, and, um..." she said, fidgeting with her figures.

"That's not what I meant." currected Naruto, who began straching the back of his head, "I mean... you know, about the crap I said earlier."

"Oh..." Hinata froze. He still seems to be thinking about the the rude and hurtful things he said her.

"I didn't really get a chance to say sorry before. I know I can be a pain in the butt sometimes, but I swear I'll make for it." he swear. Naruto, for all good or bad reason, might have been pig headed at most times, but he isn't without a good heart. And it was that good heart that's encouraging her right now.

"N-No! I'm the one who should be saying sorry!" stated Hinata, feeling guilty for making Naruto feel so bad, "I've done nothing but sat around cryng and getting myself captured. I'm so weak compared to you and Sasuke-kun..."

"But that's where you're wrong, Hinata." said Naruto, "You can be stronger too. Even stronger than me and Sasuke. You know, if you put your heart in it." Naruto smiled.

"My heart...?" Hinata whispered, and placed her hand on her chest. She thought about Hanabi's words about puting her heart in becoming leader of the Hyuga clan.

"Well, anyway, I better get going. See you tomorrow, Hinata." Naruto said, and was beginning to leave.

"Oh, right! Bye Naruto-kun!" she said, waving goodbye to the boy she likes. He waved back and left soon after. After a really long day full of trial and hardiship, it's safe to say that these have grown closer to each other.

Hinata, feeling loads better, happily strolls back home by herself. Meanwhile, Hiashi Hyuga steps out of the shadows, and stands there for a good while.

"Naruto Uzumaki..." he muttered to himself.

**(-A little while ago-)**

Hiashi was walking home on his own after his heated discussion with Iruka Umino and the Third Hokage. Though, he hid it quite well back at the office, his own words were affecting him, and so were Iruka's words. Although, he often felt ignored Hinata in favor of Hanabi, he still had hidden attachment to his first born daughter. Saying what he did, pained him more then Iruka's words.

He looks up at the sky sullenly, "Hinata... forgive me... were I not such horrid, spineless, coward of a father... but, for the good of the clan, we need a strong leader." he muttered to himself. Children were playing around behind him.

In the corner of his eye, Hiashi spotted something a far off distance from himself. He saw his daughter Hinata, two boys the same age, and an adult male with spiky white hair. They appeared to be talking about something.

"Hinata... and those two..." Hiashi uses his Byakugan to get a better look of the boys with her. He recongized them. One had black, and the other blonde. The black haired boy was Sasuke Uchiha, and the blonde, Naruto Uzumaki.

Hiashi knows of the Uchiha clans Massacre four years ago, and Sasuke being the only known survivor. As to who did it, Hiashi doesn't know.

Hiashi also knows of Naruto, the boy who has a dangerous fox spirit inside of him. He doesn't really have anything against Narutom but he does wonder why the boy is acting so casual around his daughter.

The adult male must be their Jonin sensei, Kakashi Hatake, whom he has heard rumor of. "So, that's Kakashi." Hiashi thought. It would appear that niether of them failed Kakashi's test, Hinata included. He felt a slight sense of relief that Hinata passed.

However, he wasn't prepared to see Naruto and Hinata left alone by Kakashi and Sasuke. He is suddenly over come with a need to watch them, as Naruto is evidently walking Hinata home. Alone. Just the two of them. Being a father, Hiashi grows a need to make sure that his daughter does not end up alone with boy he does not want her to.

He follows them all the way to where they were now, making sure he wasn't detected in the process.

Now, he watches as Naruto departs after he had a short conversation with Hinata. She smiled, and begins her own journey home.

Hiashi instantly realized her affections for Naruto. "So, that's how it is..." he muttered to himself bitterly, "A boy like Naruto..." he continued.

**(-Later that evening: Hyuga Main House Hall-)**

Hiashi, Hinata, and Hanabi has in the main hall of the house of the Hyuga Main House. Hiashi brought his daughters here because he is plagued by curiosity. Curiosity at relationship Hinata has with Naruto, and for other reasons, Sasuke. He feels he must know now.

"Hinata..." Hiashi spoke.

"Yes, father?" Hinata replied.

"What relationship do you have with your team?" Hiashi asked.

"Huh?" Hinata said. Why would he be interested in her relationship with her team? Unless, he knows that Naruto is on her team. "U-Um... well, we... get along, quite well..." Hinata weakly answered.

"That's not I meant. You haven't really told me much about them, and you have yet to reveal their names to me." Hiashi said. Though, he already knows that those two boys are own her team.

"That's right. You haven't told us who they are yet. I want to know, Sister." said Hanabi, getting curious herself.

"U-Uh, well... one boy, Sasuke Uchiha... he's the best in our class, though he's a little hard to approach, at least in my prospective." said Hinata. She tried hidden the fact tha Naruto was there too, because her father might disaprove of having a relationship with him.

"And, who is the other one?" Hiashi asked, with that strict, and demanding voice. He was starting to loose his paitence.

Hinata hesitated to speak, but she can't disobey her father. "U-Um... Naruto Uzumaki..." Hinata mumbled, while fidgeting with her figures again.

"Naruto?" Hanabi asked.

"Is that so? Naruto is on your team." Hiashi said, despite already knowing. His arms and shoulders began twitching.

"Y-Yes..." Hinata answered.

"And..." Haishi paused, and then all of sudden, appeared very close to Hinata's face, with a maddening look on his face, "How exactly do you two get along?" he asks.

"I-I don't have..." Hinata had a hard time saying what she tried to.

"Father, you're kind of scaring her." said Hanabi.

Hiashi suddenly regained his composure, and went back a reasonable distance away from Hinata. "Ahem... sorry, I lost myself for a second." Hiashi said. Both his daughters sweatdropped. "N-Now, you were saying, Hinata?"

"Um, well..." Hinata paused herself. She didn't want to lie, and she didn't want to hide her feelings either. She also didn't want her father to disapprove of Naruto either. But, remembering all that Naruto has done for her, she can't hide anything like that.

"Naruto-kun, despite all the bad things everyone says, is actually a really nice person. He helped me out today during sensei's test, and thanks to that, we all passed. Now, he, Sasuke-kun, and I have become Genin." said Hinata, with a confident smile. No form of studdering, or fidgeting involved. She said exactly how she thinks of Naruto.

"Oh... this Naruto person sounds like a real character." Hanabi said.

"Yes, he is. I hope to repay his kindness someday." said Hinata.

Hiashi remained quiet. Has Hinata gained some confidence during her time with Naruto? And, after just a few short days as well?

"Father..." Hinata spoke but to her father.

"Hm?"

"I'm sorry for not telling you earlier. It's just that, I thought you wouldn't approve of me being with him, so I..." Hinata said.

As far as Hiashi is concerned, there wasn't much he could say. "Just as long as he doesn't cause you trouble, I have no problems." he said. He stood up, and went out the door.

"Father..." Hinata smiled. He doesn't disapprove of Naruto. That made her glad.

However, just outside, Hiashi is making an angry face, and once again, his eyes filled with fire. "As long as he doesn't cause trouble, that's just fine... but, if he lays a hand on my daughter, I will make him regret it..." Hiashi thought.

**(-Meanwhile: Naruto's House-)**

It was just in the middle of the night. Naruto was preparing for bed, until he felt a mysterious chill run down his spine.

"Geh... for some reason, it suddenly got really chilly..." he said, rubbing his arms to keep himself warm.

The next moment, Naruto looks at his hands, and remembered that these hands are the ones that saved his teammate from harm. He realizes that he'll have to work harder then ever if he's going to protect her.

"For her sake, I gotta get better." he said to himself.

**(-Main House: Hinata's room-)**

Hinata, after a short bath in the bath house, retreats to her room. She laid down on her futon, and thought about everything that happened today, as she stared at the ceiling.

"Everything today... wasn't all that pleasent. But, that doesn't mean it was totally bad. Naruto-kun has been so kind to me after what happened. Though, I wish he wouldn't dwell on it so much. Because, we'll be together for a long time. Plus, he and Sasuke-kun are starting to get along, at least a little. Not only that, father has even approved of Naruto-kun. Nothing has made me happier." Hinata thought, and began giggling with joy, when she probably should be asleep.

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to her, a certain man who leads this household, and happens to be her own father watches her quiet through a crack in the door. He was crouching, while he was spying on her.

"Look at her... she seems so happy..." whispered Hiashi. His grip on the door tighten at the thought of Naruto becoming closer to Hinata. "Naruto Uzumaki, just what have you done to my daughter that she could be so happy...?" he growled, with some envy.

"Hiashi-sama?" said a voice, that made Hiashi jump in surprise.

It was another member of the Hyuga Main House. He saw Hiashi sitting there with a odd expression on his face. The member of the house appraoches Hiashi, who starts panicing.

"What's wrong? I couldn't help but see that strange look on your-Gugh!" with no time to think, Hiashi quickly knocked the main house member out before he finish.

As he fell, Hinata heard the loud noise outside.

"Is someone there?" Hinata asked.

Once again, with little time to think, Hiashi quickly picked up the member, and carried him off as fast as he could before Hinata could even notice.

Hinata peered out head from out the door, to see who was there. No one was there.

"That's strange. I thought I heard something." said Hinata. She shrugged it off, closed that door, and went to bed.

Meanwhile, with the Main House member unconscious, Hiashi is panting very hard.

"Dammit... every time..."

* * *

BW: Well, I thought this would be short, but that ends chapter 06. Truth be told, I've been thinking of a way to make Hiashi look like kind of different from the canon series. I dropped a few hints along the way, just so you know. Anyway, see you soon.


	7. Chapter 7: First Mission

**Hinata: Team Heart chapter 07: First Mission**

BW: Time for some real romance! Chapter 07 is all about how serious Naruto is in his new relationship with Hinata. You'll know what I mean by serious. I know some of you weren't happy with Hinata's characteration in this fanfic, but rest assured, it won't be like that forever.

**(I don't own Naruto or series content)**

* * *

Today is an important day. It's her first mission with her team, and she was very excited. After doing the usual morning routine, Hinata left the Hyuga Manor to meet with her team. Her father, Hiashi watches her as she leaves for today. He sighed. In his heart, he hoped that Hinata would be safe on her journey.

Hinata walks through the village, heading towards a certain destination, where her teammates will be. Today, is their first mission as ninja of the Hidden Leaf, and she couldn't wait to start her new life as a Ninja of the Hidden Leaf.

She arrives at the local bridget, where her team, Naruto, a boy she has a crush on, and Sasuke, who is more or less natural to her.

Naturally, Hinata wasn't the only one excited about their first mission. Naruto is the most excited about it, evident by his big grin. He had been waiting so long for this day, and he didn't bother trying to hide, knowing the kind of person he is.

"Hey, Hinata!" Naruto called to her cheerfully.

"Naruto-kun, Sasuke-kun, good morning." Hinata greeted at she joined them. The last to arrive is their sensei, Kakashi. "Where is Kakashi-sensei?" she asked.

"Who knows? He's probably late again." Naruto grumbled.

"Let's just wait patiently. He'll show up sooner or later." said Sasuke.

Three waited.

**(-10 minutes later-)**

"Hey, everyone." Kakashi greets casually, "Ready to to start our first mission?"

"Your late! Again!" Naruto yelled.

"Sorry. A cat crossed my path, so I had to take a different route and..." one look at his students faces tells him they don't buy it. "Right then... let's just go the Hokage's Office. He'll explain everything about our first mission." said Kakashi.

"Alright! First mission, here we come!" Naruto cheers.

"Don't get too excited. Things might not be what they seem." Kakashi said, leaving Naruto confused.

Soon after, Team 7 heads to the Hokage's office to get their assignment.

While walking th streets, Kakashi lead the group, while his Genin students strolled behind him.

With Naruto right next to her, Hinata wanted strike up a conversation with him.

"S-Say, Naruto-kun." Hinata spoke.

"Hm? what's up?" Naruto asked.

"Are you excited about our first mission?" Hinata asked. It was kind of a dumb question, though.

"Hehe! Isn't it obvious? Of course I'm excited!" Naruto gleefully answered, "We're finally going to be real ninja! And we're going on a real ninja mission! How cool is that?"

"you're right. Forget I said anything." Hinata giggled. Seeing Naruto so cheerful makes her happy.

Kakashi sighed. He heard the two making small talk. "Well, it's nice that he's enthusiastic about this, but we'll see how long he'll stay that way." Kakashi thought.

**(-At the Hokage's Office-)**

Team 7 meets with the Third in the Hokage's office. Iruka-sensei was there too. Naruto and Hinata are happy to see him, but buisness comes first.

"Alright, Team 7. Are you prepared for your first assignment?" the Third asked.

"Of course we're prepared! We've been prepared ever since yesterday!" Naruto exclaimed. He was very eager to get started. Hinata and Sasuke do a better job of hiding their own excitment about their first mission.

"Fine. Settle down." ordered the Third, "Alright, here is your assignment. A local inn outside the village is low on staff. The inn keeper has asked for assistance from the village. Your assignment is fill in for the employees that are currently absent." explained the Third Hokage, much to the confusion of the three Genin in front of him.

**(-Minutes Later: Leaf Village Gate-)**

Team7 are at the gate entrance to the Hidden Leaf, bags packed, and ready to go. Before then though, Hinata had to inform her father that she would be gone longer then expect.

Naruto eager is the first to step out of the gate, "Yay! We're going on a mission!" he cried out.

"Naruto-kun..." Hinata mumbled.

"Why are you excited?" Sasuke asked.

"Because, it's actually our first time outside the village!" Naruto answered, "Isn't that great!"

"But, we're heading to an inn, which where our assignment is." said Sasuke.

Naruto loses his cheerful exterior, and is suddenly bumbed.

"That's the only downside to it..." Naruto muttered. He turns to Kakashi, "Why didn't you say it was going to be like this!" he asked his sensei.

"Because, it would've ruin the surprise." Kakashi answered, calmly as ever, "Besides, I did warn you not to get too excited, didn't I?"

"Geez..." Naruto groaned.

"C-Cheer up, Naruto-kun. It'll be... like an advneture..." Hinata tried to assure Naruto. Didn't exactly work, though.

"Yeah... an adventure in slave labor." Naruto snarked.

**(-An hour or so later: Local inn-)**

Team 7 arrives at the inn, which is known as "Emi-nen Umare (means: Love born in water)". Although relatively small in compareson to some, this inn was a pretty big Japanese sytle inn. It looked like it has been around for at least a few years.

Meeting the team outside was the slightly elderly manager of the inn. He looked like a nice man.

"Welcome to the Emi-nen Umare." greeted the manager. He spoke in a polite manner.

"Hello. You requested some assistance from the Leaf Village, did you not?" Kakashi asked the manager.

"Yes, that's right. So, you're the ninja I asked for. I wasn't expecting three kids to be working here, though." said the manager.

"Well, excuse us for being kids." Naruto gripped.

"Hehe... please, forgive him. He's... young..." said Kakashi.

"Don't worry about it. I should apologize for selfishly asking this of you." apologized the manager.

"That's alright. It's our job to help those in need." Kakashi states.

"U-Um, sir..." Hinata spoke, "It is really okay for the three of us to be working here?" she asked the manager.

"Hmm... you raise a good point..." the manager began stroking his beard, thinking. "Well, I guess it should be alright, as long as you have a chaperon with you." said the manager.

"Great... a chaperon means a slave driver." Naruto continued to gripe.

"Naruto-kun, it's not so bad." Hinata said, "It's a really nice looking inn. ANd I'm sure the workers here are nice too."

"We won't get anything done by standing around chatting. Let's go in and start working." Kakashi orders to his Genin students. After the manager, Kakashi walks, followed by Naruto, who is still groaning about this assignment, and Sasuke. Hinata was the last to enter.

Before she did, she was distracted by the sign on the inn. "Emi-nen Umare..." she repeated the title. She wondered why an inn would be named something like that.

"Hinata!" Kakashi called to Hinata.

"Coming!" Hinata replied, and rushes inside.

**(-Inside in the inn-)**

Team 7 was introduced to some of the employees who were working. Many of them were female, and had to work pretty hard for the guests, who usually come all year round, and keep the place clean.

Inside the manager's room, Team 7 and the manager himself speak.

"The truth is, we have a reservation for a large party later on this afternoon. Thankfully, you arrived earlier then expected. A little too early, though."

"A large party...?" Naruto grimmiced. That would mean a lot of grunt work.

"So, what do we do to pass the time?" Kakashi asked.

"Let's see... first off, I'd like you clean some of the empty rooms." said the manager, "And if you can, try to help with some of the guests that are already here, and greet some that come by of their own accord."

"Well, you can leave the cleaning job to Naruto." said Kakashi.

"Huh? Why me?" asked Naruto.

"Because, you have the Shadow Clones, remember?" Kakashi replied.

"Man, such a pain..." Naruto grumbled, and getting ready to leave for his assignment.

"Um, Naruto-kun, do you want some help?" Hinata asked Naruto.

"No thanks. I got it." Naruto said.

"Oh, okay..." Hinata sighed.

"Don't worry. It's nothing. I got Shadow Clones, remember? It should be a breeze." Naruto assured. He wasn't about to let Hinata feel unwanted or not helpful.

"I see. Well, do your best, okay Naruto-kun." Hinata smiled.

"Right then. Sasuke, why don't you help with Naruto?" Kakashi asks of Sasuke.

"Why me?" Sasuke asked.

"Well, things will get done much quicker. Plus, I think you should learn a thing or two from this."

Sasuke just sighed, "Whatever."

"Hinata, I think you should do some guest work." Kakashi said to Hinata. She's somewhat surprised.

"Uhh, sensei? Why make Hinata deal with the guests?" Naruto asked.

"To help her build some self confidence." Kakashi answered, "Besides, you two doing might help waste more energy then needed."

Kakashi-sensei is trying to help her build her confidence. She can't let his efforts go to waste. "A-Alright, sesnei. I'll try my best." Hinata said, with determination in her voice.

**(-Moments later-)**

Naruto summons his Shadows Clone, and they begin in one room. Working as one, the Shadow Clones cleaned and wipe down as much as they could.

"Whoa..." Sasuke said. He watching the Naruto clones do their work.

"What, are you impressed, or something?" Naruto asked, not expecting a decent answer.

"Not really. I just thought grunt work suited you." Sasuke said.

"Well gee, thanks!" Naruto retorted, and got back to work.

A female worker came up to Sasuke, as he watched Naruto work on the empty room.

"I hear ninja were really amazing, but I didn't one could make mutiple copies of himself." said the worker, "And they work so efficiantly." the worker added in awe.

The Naruto clones were in earshot, and smiled gleefully to the praise.

"Don't praise him to much, or it'll go to his head." Sasuke said, "He's normally a screw-up, anyhow."

"Oh, so he's a screw up?" asked the worker.

"Hey, Sasuke!" Naruto snapped.

"Anyway, I'm going to do some clean on my own." Sasuke siad, and left to find an empty room for himself to clean.

"While you're at it, why don't you clean up your act!" Naruto yelled.

"Look who's talking." said Sasuke.

Meanwhile, at the front entrance, Hinata and another worker are seen greeting guests who check in to Emi-nen Umare. They show some guests to an unocciupied room to stay in, and answer some calls to already stationed guests in the inn. To those guests, she helped the workers serve ordered meals and drinks.

It seemed like tough work, but Hinata enjoyed it, and has made friends with some of the workers in the inn. She even wore the worker's yukata. They evidently had one her size. Although she dreaded that her team wasn't having as much fun working like this.

"Hinata-chan, if you're worried about your teammates, you can take a break and see how their doing." said a worker.

"Oh, really? Is that okay?" Hinata asked politely.

"Sure. It's no trouble." answered the worker.

"Thank you very much." Hinata thanked, politely bowing her head to her co-worker.

The worker giggled, "My, what a polite girl. The boy you marry one day is going to be one lucky husband."

"M-Marry..." Hinata blushed. She already had the thought of marrying Naruto, and baring his children, but she couldn't help herself thinking it again.

Soon after, she went looking for Naruto and Sasuke. After a while, she found them, and somehow they ended up working in the same room. Kakashi-sensei was with them, to make sure they weren't fighting.

While Naruto was moving stuff around, Sasuke was cleaning a sliding door. However, he accidently poked a hole when he pressed too hard on it.

"Geez, can't you do anything right?" Naruto asked, annoyed.

"You're the last person I wanna heard that from, loser!" Sasuke retorts.

"What's that supposed to mean?! You wanna start something?" Naruto growled to Sasuke. The two glared at each other, and looked like they were about to fight.

"One thing you two could learn from this is self control." Kakashi said, while calmly dusting. He noticed Hinata standing in the door way. "Oh, Hinata. Done with your chores already?"

"Well, I'm taking a short break." Hinata answered.

"Is that so?" Kakashi asks, "Well try not to push yourself too hard, okay?"

"No, I'm not tired. I'm actually having a lot fun here." Hinata said with a smile.

"You're having fun? From this? You're tougher then I thought, Hinata." Naruto grinned, impressed.

"Y-You think so?" Hinata blushed.

"Yes. Not only is she tough, but she's quite popular." said a familiar voice.

The team see the manager again.

"Mister Manager?" Kakashi gasped in surprised, "We're not goofing, it's that what you think." Kakashi tried assuring.

The manager chuckled, "Don't worry about it. I'm actually here to tell you that you can take a break. You've worked hard, and should enjoy yourselves."

"Really?! Yahoo!" Naruto cheered.

"Is it really alright for to..." Hinata asked the manager.

"Yes, yes. Do I really need to repeat myself?" asked manager.

"Thank you for consideration." Kakashi politely thanked.

"No problem. The guests are satisfied right now, thanks your efforts." said the manager.

"Yeah, we finally get a break!" Naruto cheered.

"Great, as if he couldn't be anymore annoying." said Sasuke, who was indeed annoyed with Naruto.

Hinata just smiles to the refreshness of Naruto's cheerful mood. She's glad to see that cheerfulness return. However, she is curious as to why the manager said she was popular.

"U-Um... what did mean by me being popular?" Hinata asked the manager.

"Well, I've been hearing talk among the guests. They've been talking about a girl with blue hair working here, and they seem to think you're a hard worker."

"Oh, really? I..." Hinata felt bashful, wearing those words.

"Oh yes. In fact, some of them keep going on about how cute you are." said manager.

"Wha-? Me... cute...?" Hinata uttered.

"You know, come to think of it, I also heard some guests talking earlier, and they wouldn't stop talking about how they wished they had her for a girlfriend." said Kakashi.

"G-Girlfriend...?!" Hinata blushed, "I-I couldn't possibly be..." Hinata began fidgeting with her figures.

"Well, I don't think they'd want twelve year old girl in particular, maybe someone their age, but with the same personality." Kakashi states.

Even so, this was a first for Hinata. No one has ever told her such things, aside from Hanabi in her own strange way. Hinata never really considered herself cute, or any related word. Being likable is fine, but being thought of a cute, this talk of marriage, and girlfriends, is a little much for her.

"Hey, don't get embarrassed, Hinata. People are saying nice things about you." said Naruto with a smile.

Hinata blushes upon hearing Naruto's words, "Eh...? T-Then... Naruto-kun..." she mumbled, slowly moving her lips to form words with her soft voice, "D-Do... think... I-I'm..." she couldn't really finish, and she could barely speak aloud. Especially not in front of the others.

But, even an idiot like Naruto could get a good feeling of what she is trying to say. Now that he got a good look at her, Hinata does look pretty in her yukata. He thought she was cute before, and cute definitly seems to fit here, and now he feels to need to comment on it. But, just as he was about to open his mouth, one of the workers rushes in.

"Manager! We've got trouble!" she cried.

"What? What's wrong?" asked the manager.

"It's the large party that called for the reversation! They're here already!"

"What?! But, they said they'd be here this afternoon!" the manager exclaimed.

"It would seem that they made a change in plans. They're here earlier. What should we do?" asked the worker.

"Hmmm..." the manager looked preplexed, trying to figure out what to do.

"Sir, we're still here, so let us take care of the party." Kakashi suggests, much to the surprise to the others around him.

"EHH?!" Naruto exclaimed. Just when he thought he had a break.

"Are you sure about this?" asked the manager, shocked.

"Yes. I think we can handle it." Kakashi assured.

"Sorry about this. I said you can have a break, but now that this happened..."

"Oh, c'mon! What about our break?!" Naruto whinned.

"No whinning. This is our job right now, and complaining doesn't get the job, Naruto." Kakashi said.

"What a freaking pain..." Naruto grumbled.

"Hang in there, Naruto-kun. Everyone else is in the same boat, so let's do our best, Okay." said Hinata. Naruto just sighed, as he is very annoyed by the turn of events.

**(-Moments Later-)**

The team met with the reservation party at the front. It was larger than they expected. It was a huge gang of wildly dressed men, and evidently, they were very roudy and rude. Some of them were carrying weapons. Since they didn't look like ninja of any village. Perhaps they're bounty hunters of some sort.

"So, what do you say about complaining now, sensei?" Naruto asked.

"We'll save it for later." Kakashi whispers back to Naruto.

"U-Um... Welcome to the Emi-nen Umare..." Hinata greeted the leader of the party.

"Oh... what a cutie this one is." said the leader. He stared at Hinata, which made her very uncomfortable. "Hey, what's the matter? Never seen a handsome guy like me around?" the leader flirts with Hinata. He was getting into Hinata's personal space. It gets even more awkward for her at this point.

Naruto caught sight of this, and gave the man a very disapproving glare. Sasuke is also distgusted by this guy's behavior. He doesn't care much about girls, but that noisy dumbass should at least show her a decent amount of respect.

"Hey boss, let's go!" said one of the men in the party, "We're gettin' hungry, and we wanna see more of those hot yukata babes!"

"We got one right here, so what's the big deal?" the leader yells at his party, while rapping his arm around Hinata. He thinks he's a ladies man and can get any girl he wants, but clearly, Hinata is too young for him. He doesn't seem to care, though. She's a real looker, and that's all that matters to him.

"U-Um..." Hinata whimpered. No one ever touched her like this before, and needless to say, she didn't like this, and most certainly did not feel comfortable at all.

Naruto and Sasuke become even more disgusted. Kakashi saw this, and made sure that they remain calm, though he himself did not approval of this.

"Sir, for the consideration of the other guests here, please refrain from making too much noise." Kakashi calmly asks of the party, "And you're making the girl very uncomfortable, so please, release her."

"Huh?" the leader stares at Kakashi for moment, and then begins to laugh, with his band of misfits joining in, "What's with the crazy look?! You supposed to be a ninja?! Hahaha!"

Kakashi didn't answer that. He turned around to Sasuke and Naruto and tells them to show the party to their reserved room. While he showed no signs of it, he did have an aura of angry surrounding him. The two boys comply without question, or complaint. The long night, has begun.

**(-The reserved room: a little later-)**

In the reserved room, Team 7 is forced to serve these punks whatever they wanted, meanwhile, the bounty hunters were drinking themselves stupid, and making a ton of noise, like they were having a party.

"Excuse me~! Can I get some more to drink~?" called a drunken party memeber.

"Yes sir! Right away sir! Here comes the boozes!" Naruto yelled, with an annoyed expression, and begins to serve the drunkerd his alcohol. Naturally, Naruto didn't like doing this at all.

"Thank ya, shorty~"

Naruto shot an angry glare at the drunk. Out of a lot things, Naruto doesn't like to be called short, even if it is just a joke. Why are even serving them alcohol, anyway? In fact, aren't the Genin too young to be doing this?

"Hey, don't be a selfish bastard! Another round for everybody here!" the leader of the bounty hunters called, and began drinking again.

Meanwhile, Sasuke was serving a bottle to another party member.

"Hehe~! Yer real pretty, ya know dat, little lady?" the drunk flirted with Sasuke.

"I am not girl..." Sasuke said, with an annoyed tone.

"Huh?" the drunk stares at Sasuke for a minute, "Oh, yer right. Yer just some guy that looks like a girl."

"... Please, enjoy your stay." Sasuke said. He tried to remain calm, but he was one step away from killing them, just like Naruto is right now. But, the two restrained themselves, since Kakashi was watching them.

It continued like this for several hours.

**(-Reserved room: Nightfall-)**

After a while, Naruto and Sasuke sink the floor outside, thoroughly tired and exhausted.

"Ahh, man... I'm so tired..." Naruto exclaimed.

"How is it possible that those guys wound up as customers here in the first place?" Sasuke asked Kakashi, who was out there with them.

"Well, although it's pretty much obvious by now, the manager told me that they're famous bounty hunters. They caught a big bounty recently, and decided to celebrate here." Kakashi informed.

"What?! That's what we should be doing!" Naruto yelled.

"Join on the celebration, and getting drunk?" Kakashi asked, "I'm pretty sure you're ready for that yet, Naruto."

"No!" Naruto retorted, "Looking for bounties, and getting famous! That's what ninja are supposed to do, right?!"

"True, but you're not ready for that yet either, Naruto." Kakashi said.

Naruto just gets more irritated. For a first mission, this pretty much sucks. Cleaning and helping out with normal guests is one thing, but dealing with these half-ass drunk bounty hunters was a real pain, and an utter waste of his own time. He sat there pouting, until Hinata showed up, and hands him a drink.

"Please, calm down, Naruto-kun." she said, "And take this too." she as she handed him the drink.

"Hinata?" Naruto uttered, "Wait, this isn't the crap we've been serving, is it?"

"No, of course not. It's one of the drinks from the vending machines. I didn't know which one you liked, so I got several for everyone." said Hinata.

"Oh, really? Thanks Hinata." Naruto thanked, and graciously took the drink from her. He's seems to have calmed down a bit, which is good.

"Here's one for you too, Sasuke-kun, Kakashi-sensei."

"Thanks." Sasuke said, taking his drink.

"That's really kind of you, Hinata. I envy the man who eventually marries you one day." Kakashi joked. He couldn't resist saying it, even if he wanted to.

Hinata blushed again, "W-Well, no, I..." Hinata stammered. That's the second someone has said something like to her.

Naruto and Sasuke stared at Kakashi blankly, thinking to themselves "what a dirty joke".

"HEEY~! WE NEED SOME BOOZES OVER HERE!" shouts the leader of the group.

"Oh, coming!" Hinata called. She was about to go back inside.

"Wait, you're gonna go and serve those drunken monkeys in there alone?" Naruto asks Hinata, stopping her for a moment from entering.

"Yes. I'll be fine, so you guys just relax out here." Hinata assured, and went back to work.

A moment later, "Please tell me she's not enjoying herself in there..." Naruto pleads.

"Don't worry. I don't think she'll having fun for very long." Kakashi said.

Looking inside, the three watch Hinata. The can hear some of the drunks making passes at her, and saying many inappropiate things to her. She tried to ingore them, but she felt embarrassed to hear them, but she couldn't ask her teammates to help her, since they're tired from the nonstop abuse of service.

"She says that she's fine, but she looks more tired then the rest of us." said Sasuke, "And when you add in the harrassment she's getting, she's going to break down."

"Why is she doing this for us, anyway?" Naruto asks.

"It's because she doesn't want to let her teammates down." Kakashi said, "Remember, she hates being a burden, so she's trying to do her best so she doesn't drag her team down. Being weak, and helpless are things she dreads most."

Naruto watches at Hinata works hard to keep these drunks happy. He remembers what she said about working being fun. It must have something to do with working for nice people, who appriciate her efforts. Meanwhile, all Naruto has done was complain and whine. He vowed that he would get stronger for her, but he won't do that by acting like a spoiled brat.

"Kya!" Hinata's voice cried. This caught Naruto's ears.

"Say, little lady, how 'bout you and me go hang out somewhere private~?" the leader asks, once again, rapping his arm Hinata's shoulders as she sat down.

"P-Please, sir... I'm working, right now..." Hinata mumbled.

"Huh? Can't hear ya! Come 'lil closer." the leader forced Hinata come closer to him. She's getting uncomfortable again, and the drunkard can't see that.

"S-Sir, please, let me go..." Hinata pleads. She felt sick, being touched by this man. She hated this more then anything, and wanted to get away from him. Naruto is watching, and she didn't want him to see this. She tries to pull herself away, but his grip was too firm on her.

However, Naruto continues to observe the scene, and he is not happy about it. Look at that guy! He's making the increadibly shy Hinata uncomfortable, and doesn't seem to care that she's practically still a child!

"C'mon, and have a drink with me!" the leader said.

"B-But, I can't..." Hinata mumbled.

Moments later, some of leader's flunkies joined in. They too thought Hinata was cute, and wanted some attention.

"C'mon, don' hog 'er to yer-self, boss!" one of them said.

"Yea, you always get da cute ones!"

"Shuddup! You guys don't know how to treat a girl!" the leader yelled at them.

"Yeah, and neither do you..." Naruto growled under his breath. The more he watched, the more irritated he became. He started to ball up his fists. Kakashi saw this, and urged Naruto to stay calm, although, he knew that the chance of that happened are pretty much zero, knowing who Naruto is.

"Weren't you the one who said not to be a selfish bastard?!"

"I said shuddup!"

With the leader distracted, Hinata finally managed to get away, by squeezing herself from under the leader's armpit. The leader shots an angry look at her.

"I-I'm sorry!" Hinata apologized, bowing her head down, "But I still have work to do." she added. She was about to get back to it, but the leader stands up, and roughly snatched her wrist and pulled her back.

"Hey! Where do you think you're going?" The leader asks, tightening his grip on her.

"O-Ow..." Hinata whispered. She tried to pull away, and his grip was too strong, and it was beginning to hurt.

"Hey, she tried to stand up the boss..." the drunks whispered amongst themselves. They never seen that before. Most girls flack to the boss, but this girl is actively trying to avoid him.

"I've been nice and sharing my feelings with you, and you think you can turn me down? HUH?!" the leader yells, "Just sit down, and have a drink with me!"

"I-I'm sorry, but I'm still underage, and I-I'm too young for you..." Hinata said, "... and there's someone I already..." she whispered so no one could hear.

"Ya think I care! If I want a woman, I get a woman!" the leader barks, "And I want you!" the leader forcibly forces Hinata closer to him. She continued to stuggle, but to no avail.

From the corner of her eye, a tear started to form. She couldn't hold it back. She clearly wanted help this time. Luckily for her, Naruto decided to stop sitting around, and decides to do something. That one tear from Hinata, was all that he need to get movitated to get angry.

Naruto trots over to the leader, grabs his hand, and shouts, "That's enough!"

"Huh...?" the leader glares at Naruto, who glares back.

"Get your damned drunken hands off her now!" Naruto demands, "Can't you see you're making her uncomfortable?!"

"Naruto-kun..." Hinata whispered in her mind. He came to her rescue again, and this time, she sighed relief and joy.

"Oh, boy..." Kakashi muttered. Although, he was glad Naruto decided to take action rather then sitting there waiting.

"That moron..." Sasuke thought. He himself was one step away from knocking that drunk bastard out himself.

"What the hell's you're problem!" the leader retorts, "You can't talk to a gentleman like that!"

"If you're gentleman, then at least show some respect!" Naruto yelled.

"Shuddup!" the leader punches Naruto in the face in response.

"Naruto-kun!" Hinata cried in worry.

Naruto shrugged it off however, "You are gonna pay for that, asshole!" Naruto punches the leader back, and a fight ensue between the two. Very soon, the entire party of bounty hunters start a brawl. Naruto summoned a few Shadows Clones, and continues to fight.

Kakshi and Sasuke watch as the scene unfold. Hinata managed to get away before things got ugly.

"So, what do we do?" Sasuke asked Kakashi.

"Let's leave them be." Kakashi said lazily, and sighed.

"I'm sorry." Hinata apologized, "Because of me, this happened..."

"Don't worry. I'll make sure the manager understands." Kakashi assured.

"B-But..." Hinata mumbled.

"Besides, it's just like Naruto to do something like this, isn't it?" Kakashi asks. Hinata look towards the brawl, and see the many Naruto clones fighting, and thought it was just like Naruto. To jump in first, pick a fight for a friend, and not care about what happens later. Hinata smiled, feeling glad that this is who Naruto Uzumaki is.

Meanwhile, the fight continued, and seemed like it could go on.

"Say... I'm going to join." Sasuke announced, and joined in on the brawl. He remembered the comments about him looking like a girl from the bounty hunters, and decided to pay them back for it. That, and he wasn't about let Naruto have all the fun of beating those drunkards to a pulp.

Hinata giggled, and Kakashi just sighed again. The fight continue during the long night.

**(-Emi-nen Uware: the next morning-)**

Naruto was beat. After that brawl last night, he woke up, feeling exhuasted. He felt that nice relaxing dip in the hots springs could make him feel better. It seems the manager permited it as reward for sticking up for his friend.

After the brawl last night, the bounty hunters were driven off, and vowed never to return. Expecting a full scolding from the manager, Kakashi and his team explained to situation to him, and full hearted apologized. However, the manager was not upset with them, and in fact commended them for caring about each other, but warned them to be more careful about picking fights from now on.

Their job would be finished by morning, so the manager decided to let them use the hot springs before they go back to the village as a reward.

"Boy, I'm wipped..." Naruto sighed. Using Shadow Clones, and fighting a bunch of stupid blowhard bounty hunters took a lot out of him, but as long as Hinata was safe, then it's a small price to pay. As soon as he found and entered the changing room, Naruto began undressing himself, and tucked everything he wore into an open basket. "I could sure use a bath right now." Naruto said.

"Eeeeeek!" a girl's scream is heard.

"Huh?! What's going on?! What happened?!" Naruto panicked. Without even thinking, he rushed out of the changing room and into the area where the hot springs are, to check up on whose screaming. Never fear, he had a towel wrapped around his waist.

"What's the problem?!" Naruto asked in his zeal.

"I-I just saw a mouse over there..." answered a meek voice.

"What? Screaming over a harmless little mouse?" Naruto complained, "That's not something to be scared!"

"S-Sorry..." the voice apologized.

"Huh... hey, wait, that voice... Hinata?" Naruto asked.

"Eh? N-Naruto-kun...?" said the meek voice of Hinata. The sound of someone standing up in the water was heard, but that wasn't important.

"Yeah, that makes more sense. YOU being scared of a-" Naruto halted himself. Wait just a minute. Hinata? Here? In the hot spring?

He focused his eyes through the seam of the hots springs, to see Hinata bathing alone. She did the same, seeing Naruto right in front of her.

It was silent between them, and they didn't show sign of movement. They stared at each other, until Hinata suddenly turned and ducked back down to hide her body, by covering herself with her towel. In embarrassment, she screamed once more.

"Gah! Hinata, I didn't- I-I mean, uh...!" Naruto stammered in a panic. He quickly turned around and was about to leave. "It wasn't on purpose!" Naruto bellowed, face red, and all.

"W-Wait!" Hinata called out, whiping he rhead in his durrection. Naruto froze just he was about to touch the sliding door. He remained still, albeit stilly. He was sweating buckets, and his face contorted in an uncomfortable way.

Hinata didn't really know why she called out to him just now. Maybe out of reflex? Either way, she knew this was good chance to talk to him alone today. "U-Um..." problem was, she didn't know what to say.

"Uhhh... T-This is..." Naruto had a hard time forming words too. His eye was twitch, and so was his hand.

"... N-Naruto-kun..." she whispered.

"Yes?!" Naruto squaled, thankfully able to hear her.

"Y-You... heard my scream just, and came to help me, right...?" Hinata asks meekly.

"Y-Yeah..." Naruto replied, also meekly.

"Then... it's not your fault. I'm the one to blame. I'm... sorry." Hinata apologized.

"It's okay! I'm stupid so-" Naruto said while turning her head around, but forgot that Hinata is not decent right now. He quickly whiped his head back the other way. "Get a grip Naruto..." Naruto thought to himself. He could a deep breath, "Anyway, I'll take a dip later, so I'm gonna..."

"Wait!" Hinata called out again, this time almost jumping out of the spring. Naruto jumped at the sound of splashing water. She did it again. What is is with her today? Is this really reflex? Or is it something in the hot spring?

"N-Now what?!" Naruto squaked out. He was starting to shake nervously.

"Um... well... um..." Hinata didn't how to put it. Her heart pounds like wild. She realizes that this may be inappropriate, and nervracking at the same time for someone like her, but how else is she going to spend time with Naruto? Especially in a hot spring? "... W-Would you... um..."

Naruto was still stiff, waiting for her to speak up. He hoped she wasn't going to ask what he thought it was.

"Would you... like to, maybe... I don't know... join me...?" Hinata finally breathed out. Her face turned completely crimson red.

Naruto's heart stopped, but only for a moment.

* * *

BW: DUM, DUM, DUM~! Whatever you do Hinata fans, don't kill me for this. And seriously, no flames or bull. Please. See you next chapter.


	8. Chapter 8: Hot Blooded Feeling

**Hinata: Team Heart chapter 08: Hot Blooded Feeling**

BW: For some reason, I've been loading chapters in the dead of night. Must be out of habit, I guess. I know most author tend to do that. Putting that aside, I got a message from somebody asking me if this is going to be a love triangle. I'm pretty sure he doesn't want that to happen. I know some of you like Sasuke the way he is, but you never what might happen in the future. Anyway, here's a new chapter. Hope you enjoy.

**(I don't own Naruto or series content)**

* * *

Early morning, in the hots springs of a local inn, a certain blonde boy should be relaxing in the nice hot water. He shouldn't have a care in the world, right? He should be enjoying this place, right?

Actually, he's feeling quite a little antsy. Why you ask is he so antsy? Because a certain girl with blue hair and lavender white eyes is right behind him, as he sits on a bucket, and she preparing to wash his back, while she feels not only embarrassed thinking about it, but also very excited. She wasn't the only one.

"How did it come to this...?" the blonde, Naruto asked himself.

This all started from yesterday, when Team 7 received their first mission from the Hokage. They were to provide support at an inn not too far from the Leaf Village. They helped with some of the guests, and cleaned a few rooms. However, a group of bounty hunters reserved a room for the night, to celebrate a recent success at catching a bounty. The team was put in charge of the party, but things got out of hand when the leader of the group was harassing Naruto's teammate, Hinata. Naruto got into a brawl with him to protect her.

Now, he, and the same girl are alone in the hot springs. Hinata, though embarrassed, boldly asked Naruto to join her.

"Eh...?" Naruto sheepishly squeak. His heart stopped, only for a moment.

"W-Well, since you're here, anyway... I thought I could... wash your back for you..."

He, himself is embarrassed to do this, and would have politely refused, but in the end, he ended up sitting on a wooden bucket, with Hinata prepared a wash rag, so she could wash his back for him.

"What's going on here? Is there something in the air making her do this...?" he wondered to himself, "I stayed here because she asked, and I didn't want to rude, but why...? I didn't think she would be this bold. Not in a million years. In fact she's not even angry... that's just weird..."

"Um... I'm ready..." Hinata muttered. Fear not, her towel was wrapped around her waist, to make sure modesty was in place. She is a girl you know.

"Huh? What?! I didn't do it!" Naruto blurted. That was out of reflex.

"Do what?" Hinata asked.

"Um... nothing..." Naruto mumbled.

"Okay... anyway, here I go..." Hinata said. She slowly raised to wash rag, and gently pressed it again Naruto's back. He lightly jumped, but remained still. Hinata begins moving the soup covered rag up and down, in a repeated motion, and for while, she focus more on just one spot. She tied to make this as comfortable as possible. She wondered if Naruto feels good from her back wash.

Naruto remained still, and eventually, after having his face stuck in some silly looking scowl, he began to relax, and his face started to fall into a more happy expression. Hinata's soft and gentle hands were perfect, and the way she moved that rag felt just right.

"Ahh... that feels great..." Naruto moaned happily.

"R-Really? That's good to hear. I'll just move a little higher up..." Hinata moves the rag upward, but Naruto jumped at a sharp pain around his shoulder blade.

"Ow!" Naruto grunted.

"Oh, I'm sorry! Did that hurt?" Hinata asked, quickly moving the rag away.

"N-No. That fight last night must've done a number on me." Naruto said.

Hinata looked down on herself. If she wasn't so helpless last night, then Naruto wouldn't have picked a fight with those bounty hunters, and he wouldn't be hurt. "I'm sorry. If I were stronger, I wouldn't have gotten into that situation, and you wouldn't have gotten hurt, Naruto-kun."

"Don't sweat it. You know me, Hinata; I'm used to getting into fights. That one was a piece of cake." Naruto assured, while trying to flex what little muscles he may have. He'd feel bad if Hinata was sad.

"Really?"

"Yeah, in fact, I didn't even feel it until now." Naruto said. Either his ignorance must not know any bounds, or he doesn't want her to worry about him.

Either way, Hinata chuckled, feeling a little relieved. "So, I guess it's okay to continue then?" she asked.

"Hinata... you still wanna keep going?" Naruto asked.

"Well, you saved me yesterday, and I did get you into a trouble, so this is the least I can do." Hinata said, "And, there's still the time you and Sasuke-kun saved me during our training test with Sensei. I haven't repaid you for that either." Hinata added.

"Wow..." Naruto thought. Hinata is more than bold right now. She's so downright sincere, it's starting to make him feel unworthy of this privilege. But, since it's Hinata, it's to be expected. To be kind, gentle, passionate, is just like Hinata. "Well, if you means that much to you-"

"Kya!" Hinata suddenly latched onto Naruto, hugging him tightly. He felt her breasts press against his back.

"H-Hey, what...?!" Naruto blushed. He was so surprised by Hinata's sudden clinging, that he was stunned.

"T-T-The mouse is back...!" Hinata muttered in fright.

"The mouse again?! Stupid mouse! Had to ruin the moment... and I was about to say something cool, dammit!" Naruto yelled in mind. But, his thoughts suddenly blank, when he felt Hinata breasts press against him again. He also able to feel the skin from Hinata's arms. As white as her skin is, it's also soft and warm. He caught a slight glimpse of her chest when he turned his head. It was notably bigger then Sakura. There's no way Sakura would do this sort of thing, and be so careless.

Hinata hadn't realized what she did, due to catching a glimpse of the mouse again. But, the next moment, she found her arms wrapped around her crush, hugging him tightly. When she realized she had clung to him, she first reaction is to blush uncontrollably, and then, all of sudden, push Naruto away.

"Kyaa!" Hinata shrieked.

Naruto flew quite a distance when she pushed him. He landed on the floor a few feet away, and humorously, he landed on his face.

"H-H-He... I-I... I-I-I... h-h-hug..." a red faced Hinata stammered and stuttered. She couldn't believe that she hugged in him out of the blue like that. Worse still, he caught a glimpse of her chest. Her face turned a deep shade of red, and her heart beats incredibly fast.

"It... really hurts... to stand on my face..." Naruto muttered. Hinata snapped back to reality, when she heard Naruto's painful groan. She rushes over to him.

"Naruto-kun? I'm sorry! Are you okay?" Hinata asked, almost in a panic.

"I'm fine..." Naruto answered, and pulled his face off the stoned floor, and sat up.

"Are you sure?" Hinata asked.

"Yeah, but I was surprised. You sure are scared of mice, aren't you, Hinata?" Naruto asks.

"Eh?" Hinata blinked.

"You know, you freak out when you saw it." Naruto teased.

Hinata just chuckled, "That's kinda mean."

Naruto chuckled too, "But, you know, it's actually cute, the way you get scared."

Hinata blushed again, and turned her head away. "I-I think you're taking the joke a little too far, Naruto-kun..."

"No, I'm serious. I really think it's cute." Naruto proclaimed, trying to get his point across. However, Hinata is actually happy that Naruto is basically calling her cute, even if he meant it as a joke. She's actually hiding a smile when she her turned the other way. She was waiting for Naruto to say it ever since yesterday, when they were talking about her apparent popularity in the inn.

Suddenly, the door slide open.

"Well, you two are getting along just fine, aren't you?" asked a familiar voice. Naruto and Hinata turned to see Kakashi-sensei, and Sasuke. Like Naruto, they had only a towel wrapped around their waists. Kakashi had a cloth to cover his lower part of his face, for some strange reason.

Hinata, upon seeing them quickly hides behind Naruto, embarrassed. "Eeeek!" she squealed.

"W-Why are you guys here?!" a shocked Naruto asked the two of them.

"Why you ask? We're here to enjoy the hot springs while we're still here." answered Kakashi, "And I bet you didn't know this, but the inn allows mixed bathing."

Naruto's jaw dropped upon hearing that.

"You seriously didn't know that? Sheesh..." Sasuke sighed.

"Well, excuse me!" Naruto retorted, ready for another fight with Sasuke.

"Alright now, you two. We're here to enjoy the hot springs, aren't we? So, who's up for some mixed bathing?" Kakashi asked.

The door slide closed a moment later. One of Team 7 left the springs, and wasn't planning on coming back either. There were only the boys, so obviously, Hinata was the one who bolted her way out. She didn't seem too fond of the idea of bathing with all of her teammates especially when they're all guys.

"Hmm... so no mixed bathing. I guess it's just us guys, after all. Plus, I got my Make out Paradise with me." Kakashi said. Once again, he got strange looks from Naruto and Sasuke. "What's with those looks you two? I'm not some dirty old man."

"What you said just now sounded dirty." the two boys said, in unison.

"You don't really need to say it together." said Kakashi.

**(-A little after morning-)**

After the quick bath in the springs, Team 7 decide to return to the village. Now that their job is complete, they are free to return home. After saying their goodbyes, and receiving thanks for their hard work, Team 7 now travels the road back to the village.

Along the way, Kakashi strikes up a conversation.

"You know, after a surprising start, I'd say Team 7 has completed its first mission." said Kakashi.

"I don't feel satisfied..." Naruto muttered. Hinata and Sasuke kind of agreed with him.

Kakashi just sighed, "You know, complaining about the mission doesn't really do much for you."

"It's not that. I'm just feeling a little restless."

"Oh, could it be because of that hot blooded feeling from...?" Kakashi paused.

"Ahh! Don't say it!" Naruto yelled as his face turned a deep shape of red, "You're doing that on purpose, aren't you?!"

"Maybe..." Kakashi said. Was he really joking? What if he plans to tell people what happened?

Naruto wants to make sure that doesn't happen, otherwise, the village will something totally wrong. He decided to confront Kakashi and Sasuke, since he saw everything too. "Hey! You guys better not mention a word about this when we get back!"

"Mention what?" Kakashi asked.

"Don't play dumb! You know what I'm talking about!" Naruto retorted.

"Right. Because you're worried that people would get the wrong idea about you two?" Kakashi questions.

"N-No! I-I just..." Naruto couldn't make a comeback with that. True, he doesn't want people to get the wrong idea. That's why he wants them to keep it a secret.

"I'm just teasing... partially." Kakashi winked.

"Why you..." Naruto growled. Now, he knows Kakashi likes to mess with him.

"Well, we better get back and report to the Hokage." Kakashi said as he walks passed Naruto, "And don't worry. For yours, and Hinata's sakes, this will be our little secret. Right, Sasuke?"

"Right. I could care less, anyway." Sasuke replied as he walked ahead with Kakashi. They left Naruto fuming alone in the middle of road.

"Hrrmm..." Naruto grumbles. He'll make sure to them back for this.

"Um... Naruto-kun..." Hinata's voice called to him, meekly. Naruto takes notice of Hinata, whose face has been a deep shade of red for quite some time as well. She's been quiet the whole time while Naruto discussed the whole hot springs secret thing with the other two.

"Uh... what's wrong, Hinata?" Naruto asked, feeling nervous. He, himself, could barely look her in the eye right now.

"Um... I..." Hinata became more nervous than before. Just when she thought was beginning to gain some confidence, she couldn't help becoming shy and embarrassed again. She thought she looked dumb to Naruto.

But, knowing him, Naruto only thought that this was natural for Hinata. "Don't worry about it. You need to say anything." Naruto said, "I'm not gonna blab to village about what happened. Besides, I doubt her family will happy about you and me..."

"Um, actually I...!" Hinata stopped herself from anymore. Naruto got the wrong idea, and she wanted only to apologize for the incident. She thought that maybe, Naruto was mad at her too, for asking him to do something so embarrassing like join her in a bath, or even washing his back, though he was generally happy, maybe it was because she couldn't properly finish, thanks to Kakashi and Sasuke showing up out of the blue. "I know I keep saying this, but... I'm sorry everything turned out the way it did..."

"Ohh... well..." Naruto paused for moment, at first confused, but he smiled a second later. He can't be acting stupid at a time like this. "That is bad habit you should try to get rid of. Like I said, don't worry about it."

"Eh...?"

"No, maybe I should be the one saying sorry. Though, it's a little late at this point. Sorry." Naruto apologizes, bowing his head to her. Hinata stunned. "Look, everything isn't always your fault, so stop taking the blame for everything. If you want more confidence, then start believing."

"Believe... in what?"

"Believe that you will get confidence!" Naruto declared. Hinata is stunned again in silence. Naruto's words of wisdom struck deep inside her. She could feel it. Her relationship with Naruto has grown more. "Anyway, we should probably catch up with Kakashi-sensei and Sasuke. C'mon let's go!" Naruto started to run ahead.

"W-Wait!" Hinata called, and chased after him. While she dashed forward, a smile appeared on her face. She's feels relieved Naruto isn't mad at her. An embarrassing situation like this morning was not what she had planned. In fact, what happened before then still didn't make much sense to her. Her asking Naruto to join her. Why did she ask him? Could it have been the hots springs? Either way, she's glad at how everything turned out.

**(-After returning to the village-)**

After Team 7's return to the village, they report to the Hokage in his office at the academy. After which, the Third gave them some time off to recover some strength. They'll have another mission later this afternoon.

Now, Team 7 meets by the bridge.

"Alright, you're dismissed. Remember, we'll be going another mission tomorrow, so rest up until then, and report back here. You see later." Kakashi disappears in a puff of smoke, leaving the Genin by themselves.

"I'm hungry. I think I'll head over to Ichiraku's Ramen shop." Naruto decides, and begins to head off, leaving Hinata and Sasuke. Now they're alone together, and seemed very awkward, at least for Hinata.

She wondered what's she should do. Now that she thought about it, she's never actually talked with Sasuke face to face. Mostly because of how intimidating he is to her. Naturally, Sasuke prefers to stay solitary, so it's not just on her part.

"I've got stuff to do, so I'm leaving." Sasuke said, and was about to leave.

"Um, wait, Sasuke-kun!" Hinata called to him.

"What?" Sasuke answered as he stopped.

"Well, I was just thinking that we've never really talked. By ourselves, that is." Hinata said, "So, is there anything you'd like to-"

"Nothing in particular." Sasuke cutoff.

"I see..." Hinata fell silent. Of course, Sasuke would shoot down her attempts to talk to him. Then again, she doesn't really know what subject to talk about. Still she at least had to try and get little closer to him, and get him to open up to her, at least a little. "W-Well, our mission was a success. That's great, right?" Hinata asked.

"That was just a waste of time." Sasuke answered, "I've got more important things to do."

"More important things? Like what?" Hinata questioned.

"It's better that you don't know." Sasuke replied. It fell silent for a moment. The next moment, Sasuke decides to ask Hinata this, "By the way, why are you trying to talk me now? From what I understand, you're afraid of me, aren't you?"

"Well, I just thought that, we haven't talked much, and, um..."

"If it's nothing important, then don't bother trying to talk to me. Like I said, I've got more important things to do then waste my time." Sasuke said.

"Oh, I guess so..." Hinata sighed, "I'm sorry that I'm taking up your time, Sasuke-kun." Hinata apologized. Sasuke is about to leave again, but Hinata still had this to say, "Still, I'd like it if we became friends."

"... Friend, huh..." Sasuke muttered as he walked away from her.

Now Hinata is by herself. She had a feeling that Sasuke likes being alone, but it almost seemed like he was trying to push her away for some reason. She figured that this something important to do had something to do with his goals, which he stated without hesitation when introducing himself to Kakashi. If she were to get in his way, it would trouble for him.

"I guess I should go home too." Hinata decided and was about to head home, until she heard a familiar voice.

"Hinata!" the voice called. Hinata turned around to see Sakura, whom she had recently formed a friendship with.

"Sakura-san?" Hinata gasped in surprised, but she is happy to see her.

"It's been a while, huh? Well, three days probably doesn't count, right?" Sakura chuckled. She seems to be in a cheerful mood.

Hinata smiled to it, but noticed something odd. "Sakura-san... that outfit...?" Hinata noticed that Sakura had different clothing on. Sakura wore a black shirt, green vest, dark brown shorts, complete with black stockings.

"Oh, this? My sensei bought this for me." Sakura said, "She said wearing bright clothes could lead to trouble when on a stealth mission."

"Stealth mission?" Hinata repeats.

"Yeah. Team 8 is supposed to be a recon team. Kiba and Akamaru can pick up scents, while Shino can track enemy movement with his bugs. Me? I'm the brains behind their brawn." Sakura explains.

"I can picture that. You always were the smartest out of all of us." Hinata said.

"Yeah, but not compared to Sasuke-kun." Sakura said, "By the way, how's he and Naruto doing?"

"They were here not too long ago." Hinata answered.

"Really? That means I just missed them." Sakura sighed.

"Hey, a real bummer, huh." Hinata agreed, "Anyway, I'm glad to see that you're doing better."

"Well, I can't stay all mopey forever." Sakura winked, "A woman's gotta stay strong! That's what Kurenai-sensei told me."

"Wow! I'd really like to meet your sensei if I can." Hinata said. The two began giggling together after that. Hinata is glad to become such good friends with Sakura.

"It's been fun talking with you like this." Sakura said, "Anyway, I've got to be going. I'll see you later, Hinata."

"Okay, see you, Sakura-san." Hinata waved bye to Sakura as she left. "I better go home too."

**(-Hyuga Main House-)**

Hinata came home.

"I'm home." Hinata called out as she entered the Hyuga Main House.

Hanabi greets her at the entrance, "Welcome home, Sister."

"Hi, Hanabi." Hinata smiled Hanabi. Hiashi join his daughters seconds later. "Hello, father." Hinata politely bowed to her father.

"Hm. How was your first mission?" Hiashi asked.

"Yes, how was it?" Hanabi asked as well.

"It wasn't quite what I expected, but it was fun." Hinata answered.

"Really? What was like?"

"Well..."

"Hanabi, don't pester your sister. She can tell us the details later." Hiashi said, "She needs her rest."

"Oh... yes sir." Hanabi complied, albeit slightly disappointed.

Hinata smiled to Hanabi, "Don't worry, I'll tell you everything over dinner, okay?"

"Okay." Hanabi agreed.

**(-Later at dinner-)**

Hinata tells Hiashi and Hanabi about her mission with her team.

"So, you got to work as a waitress at an in?" Hanabi asked.

"Yeah, that's just about it."

"You were right. It wasn't at all like I expected." Hanabi said, feeling somewhat disappointed.

"But, it was fun, at least for me. The manager, and other waitresses were some nice, and a lot of the customers there were really kind." Hinata smiled.

"Oh, really?" Hanabi asked. She sounded a little excited.

Hiashi remained quiet for a while, "Hinata. Did anything happened with your teammates?" Hiashi asked, with suspicion in his eyes. Naturally, he wants to know, because she's around Naruto and Sasuke. Especially Naruto.

"Eh...?" Hinata blinked, and then blushed, "U-Um... nothing really..." Hinata whispered. She couldn't tell him about what happened this morning, with Naruto and the others.

"Is that so?" Hiashi was able to tell that his eldest daughter was hiding something. Before he could make her tell him, he's also curious about something else, "In that case, was there any trouble?" he asked.

"Huh? Um...Well..." Hinata didn't really want to talk about the incident with that reserved party, and their leader. But, Hiashi was firm, like he always was. He wanted what kind of troubles his daughter was having, as a ninja. Eventually, Hinata talked about the reserved group of bounty hunters, and their leader's behavior towards her.

"He did what?" Hanabi asked, visibly surprised.

"Yes. He didn't know how to keep his hands to himself." Hinata said, her eyes lowering downward at the unpleasant memory.

"That's terrible! Didn't you tell him to stop?" Hanabi asked her sister.

"I tried, but he wouldn't listen to me." Hinata answered, "He was completely drunk. On top of that, some of his friends were attracted to me too."

"Hm. Sweet and innocents girls like you are rare now a days. They must've been really happy to see you, sister." Hanabi gave her big sister another thumbs up.

"Hanabi..." Hinata didn't feel happy about that comment.

Suddenly, a cracking sound was heard, startling the Hyuga sisters. The girls turn to their father, who had remained quiet for quite some time. He was the source of the shattering sound. He broke his rice bawl with his bare hands.

"U-Um, father...?" Hinata mumbled.

"Impudent bastards..." Hiashi growled, with his face literally transforming into a demonic form of itself, with glowing blood red eyes. In a comical fashion, his head started to grow several times larger than its normal seize. Screams of terror could somehow be heard in the background. "They dare touch my daughter...?"

Both the sisters become instantly frighten of their father's demon head transformation.

"F-Father...?" Hinata squeaked in terror.

"I'm detection heavy amounts of blood lust coming from him..." Hanabi said, with a nervous smirk.

"If I ever meet them, I'll char them to cinders, and burn them to ash...!" the demon headed Hiashi uttered, with a long eel-like tongue slithering about.

"Father, please calm down...!" Hinata tried to calm him down, but she too afraid to get close to him. When Hiashi is angry, he gets quite frightening.

"Hinata! Hanabi!" Hiashi suddenly stood up, raising his voice.

"YES?!" the sisters replied together, scared out of their wits. They practically hugged each other in sheer terror.

"Make sure you take a good bath, and go bed early. I need to go out and vent my frustrations." Hiashi ordered. And then he, with a blood red aura surround him, stormed out, leaving the Hyuga sisters alone.

"Yes, sir..." the girls sigh in unison. It's been a long time since they saw him so angry. In situations like these, it's better to leave him be for while, and the next day or so, he'll act as if nothing happened.

**(-Hyuga Family Bathhouse-)**

The Hyuga sister are now bathing together again tonight. Sitting in the bathtub, they sigh heavily once more.

"Father sure is scary when he gets angry like that." Hanabi said.

"He probably won't be back until morning." Hinata said. Although, that kind of fury only surfaces when he feels it is something personal. And before any of this just happened, he never got angry about Hinata's troubles at the academy, not that he would've been interested anyway, since his main focus was usual towards Hanabi's training.

"So, back to what we were talking about before, did your teammates help you?" Hanabi asked.

"Huh? Oh, yes, that they did." Hinata answered, "They've helped me out a lot. Though, I wish wasn't such a liability." Hinata said, feeling down.

"But, isn't it sweet of them to do that?" asked Hanabi, "They saved you, because you're their teammate, and you're supposed to care and worry about your teammates, right?"

"Yeah, that's true..." Hinata replied, raising a smile.

"Then, it's a good thing, because it's what a team does." Hanabi smiled.

Hinata found herself smiling too, "Yes, you're right." Hinata said. She's glad that Hanabi knows how to cheer her up. But, Hinata knows she can't continue to rely on Naruto and Sasuke. "Still, I can't keep burdening Naruto-kun, or Sasuke-kun. I want... no, I need to change. I need get stronger, for them, and for me. Hanabi, will you cheer me?"

"Of course I will! We're sisters, after all." Hanabi answered, with no sign of doubt her sister will get stronger, "But, I won't lose either. You can count on that."

"Yeah, let's do our best together." Hinata said.

**(-The next day-)**

Naruto and Sasuke, were at the bridge, waiting for Kakashi and Hinata to show.

"Everyone!" Hinata cried out as she dashed towards her teammates.

"Hey, Hinata!" Naruto weaved to Hinata.

"Good morning, Naruto-kun, Sasuke-kun." Hinata greeted her team. Sasuke just remained.

"Oh c'mon. It's bad enough I had to wait with you, but the least you could do is say hi to her too." Naruto said Sasuke.

"Shut up, Loser." Sasuke said Naruto.

"Grr... Why you!" Naruto growled. Now they're about to fight again.

"H-Hey guys, can't we just get along?" Hinata tried making peace between her teammates again. Though, she said she would change, and get stronger, she wondered if things will continue like this every day.

"Fighting this early this in the morning? How typical of you." Kakashi's voice said from above the three Genin. They spotted their teacher above them, standing on one of the lamp post on the bridge. "Hello everyone. Ready for your next mission?"

"You're late!" Naruto yelled.

"Sorry, I slept in."

"Liar." Sasuke said.

Kakashi jumps down from the lamp post, and orders his students to follow him back to the Hokage's Office. The two boys follow as ordered, but the young girl on the team waited for a bit. She realized that it will be a long road to travel alone to getting stronger. She thought she was long, but not anymore. Her bond with her team has given her strength thus far. She felt that as long as they were there, it won't always stay the same, and time changes everything, in its own way.

"Hey, Hinata! We're leaving without you!" Naruto called for her.

"Yes, coming!" Hinata dashed over to her team to join them.

_"Right... no need to rush, just take one step at a time. As long we're together, there's no need to worry."_

* * *

BW: There's chapter 08. Sorry I haven't updated this sooner. I've had a bad case of writer's block for quite some time. Maybe my motivation is starting to go stale. Either way, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. See you next time.


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